Shown here: cuteheads Ellis Top & cuteheads Marsala Top // Willow Crowns headband // Images by Ashley Cardoza

Nothing evokes nostalgia and fond memories quite like your favorite treat you ate as a kid. Cupcakes, Ring Dings, Dunkaroos, Gushers… we each hold a soft spot in our hearts for the things we enjoyed when we were little. Growing up in Houston, one name was synonymous with celebrations and great desserts, and that name was Three Brothers Bakery. I can still remember going with my mom to pick out something delicious, and without fail, I always picked one of their iced cookies, which happen to be as big as your head and at least an inch tall with frosting. Even then, I was a girl who knew what she wanted. Those cookies are still in the case today, and if I know my daughter, she’s going to pick the same cookie if given the chance.

Flash forward 20 years and Three Brother’s is still in the location they were in when I was young, except they’ve added a second location on Washington Ave and a third location in Memorial, complete with coffee bars and cafe seating. The space on Washington Ave. is stunning (if you haven’t been, go!) and I knew it would be the perfect place for a cuteheads shoot. Cute kids + cupcakes is always a winning combo.

I sat down with co-owner Janice Jucker to get the story behind the institution that is Three Brother’s Bakery.

Tell me a little about Three Brother’s Bakery. It’s something of an institution in our city.

Three Brothers Bakery is a full-line bakery, offering everything from traditional Jewish breads to cookies, pies, cupcakes and custom wedding cakes. Our history traces back to the 1800s in Poland, and we still make everything from hand, using recipes that have been in the Jucker family for five generations. Last year, we celebrated our 65^th year of business in the city. 

How has your business changed over the year?

When we first opened our doors in 1949, we were in a small location on Holman with virtually no parking. We learned that good parking results in good customer traffic, and moved to our current Braeswood location, following a brief stay at a store on Almeda in between.

When you walk into Braeswood, you very much feel like you are walking into a traditional family bakery, everything from the aroma outside to the bread rack behind the registers shouts, “bakery!” When we opened the Memorial location, we knew we wanted to update the look a bit, and also added a coffee bar to cater to the busy professionals from the Memorial Hermann and Memorial City Mall areas.

We opened the Washington Ave. location last year, and knew we needed to really appeal to the young crowd and fit with the more trendy location. The Washington is store is beautiful – modern and sleek with a full coffee bar and later hours. We also make things like kolaches and quiche at that location.

Over the years we’ve learned how to expand, and how to operate to accommodate that expansion, and have really learned what our customers like. No matter how many crazy new concepts you conceive, people will still come back for the traditional challah and rye breads and classic gingerbread men.

You recently opened a new location on Washington Ave, which has a cool coffee shop vibe with a full coffee bar. What was the inspiration for that?

The inspiration for the coffee bar really came from our surroundings. We wanted a cool place where people can come, grab coffee and a bagel or cookie, and stay for a while. We even built a dog-friendly patio at that location, as we know it is highly walkable area.

What is your most popular item?

Our most popular items are our gingerbread men, rye bread and challah. During the holidays, our decadent Pumpecapple Piecake creation reached national popularity, and there were times when we had to stop taking orders because the demand was so high! 

What’s YOUR favorite item?

Bobby’s (my husband) favorite item is the chocolate éclair. He’s been eating them since he was a boy and never gets tired of them! He also loves the prune pockets and rye bread.

My favorite item in the bakery is the poppy seed strudel. It may not be the prettiest pastry in the display case, but it is the best! I will also toast a slice of corn rye with butter – that’s amazing, and I can’t resist the ladyfingers, shortbread cookies and the ½ & ½ chocolate chip cookies we make at the Washington store. 

What has been your biggest challenge in recent years?

Keeping up with our growth and realizing the bakery is now a place where people want a career. Those who start working with our customers want to work their way up through the bakery and make a career out of it, just as our most experienced bakers have done.

We want to make sure we give our team what they need professionally to stay here with us. They are our most important assets. In the past, people used to “grow up” and leave for their career, so it’s exciting to know they can “grow up” and still stay with us for their career. These are the people who make your memories, so the longer they stay the better your memories.

What feeling do you hope people come away with after visiting Three Brother’s?

At the bakery, we feel that we are “memory makers who happen to be bakers”, and everyday, we want our customers to leave feeling happy, and like they are a part of our family. We have the great privilege of being able to be a part of our customers’ lives through custom occasion cakes, and we love hearing the memories people have made of our bakery, whether that’s eating an amazing cinnamon roll on their first visit, or remembering stopping by the bakery every Sunday after church as a child. It means a lot to us.

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