For those of a certain age, the idea that Pueblo’s historic Union Avenue would one day be the place for an afternoon of antiquing or, perhaps, dropping in for a light lunch at a cozy little bistro, would be unimaginable. But Union Avenue has changed—seismically!
As recently as the early 1970s, many adjectives could have been applied to old Union, none positive. Each side of the street was lined with ‘beer-and-a-shot’ type bars, few—actually none—were even remotely upscale. Very honestly, they were dives. But old Union today is one of the city’s best draws. It has antique stores, boutiques, restaurants and one of the city’s ‘go-to’ bakeries.
There, near the corner of Union Avenue and ‘B’ Street, at the foot of the Union Avenue bridge, sits ‘Hopscotch’ Bakery. It’s where new owners, Erika and Cecelio Huizar, along with a small staff, bake up cookie exotica five days a week. They also have a lunch/snack menu with sandwiches, quiche and more. For ice cream lovers, there’s that, too.
Hopscotch has occupied this spot for nearly two decades. It’s also had a few different owners. But today, the Huizars run the show. He’s the baker, she’s the artist. “I’m the decorator,” she says with a muffled laugh. “I try to make sure everything looks good and edible.” Cecelio, on the other hand, knows his way around a kitchen and then some. It was Hopscotch’s first owner, Mary Oreskovich, Erika said, who “taught him everything he knows.”
She taught him how to perfect each of the various cookies they bake each day which, on any given day, could be as few as fifty or as many as a hundred. “But at the end of the day, they are all sold.”
Despite her relative inexperience as a bakery owner, she can recite the names of each of the cookies that sits snuggly behind the glass showcase, a showcase that immediately catches the eye of each new customer.
On busy days, you notice a crowd building up outside the quaint bakery. Inside, there’s only room for, maybe, a dozen customers at a time. But on-line reviews say that whatever the time of day, whatever the season, customers get the same friendly service from a more than accommodating staff. Some walk away with nothing more than a cookie and coffee others grab something off the tantalizing menu offerings. But cookies sell best.
“We make Snicker Doodles, Chocolate Chunk, Death by Chocolate, Peanut Butter, Ginger Snaps, the Lemon Lip Knocker, Oatmeal, Raspberry Royale, Confetti and The Kitchen Sink.” It’s at this point, she stops for a breath. “I think the Raspberry Royale and Kitchen Sink are the most popular,” said the Juarez, Mexico, native. For the record, there are actually a few more varieties sweet treats.
In addition to the walk-in business, Hopscotch also caters across the city to “churches, schools, Pueblo Community College, El Pomar” or to whomever ‘needs a cookie fix.’
It doesn’t happen every day, but Erika says they’ve gotten orders from across the country and from as far away as Germany. One regular customer, a person in Wisconsin, regularly orders something Erika calls ‘Hippie Bread,’ it’s a whole grain variety.
While born in Juarez, like so many others from there, she grew up in El Paso, Texas. The two cities are separated by the Rio Grande and stories like hers are common. But she moved to Pueblo in 1991 and spent most of her time working at the ARC store. Her husband, she said, came here “twenty-three years ago.”
While the Huizars have only held the keys to Hopscotch for a few months, Erika said they are religious about maintaining its reputation.
Hopscotch has been named Pueblo’s “best bakery” in The Pueblo Chieftain’s annual ‘Best of Pueblo’ poll a few different times. The couple want to keep it Pueblo’s ‘cookie stop.’
On a scale of one-to-ten, Erika, admitting she still has a lot to learn, measures her skills as a cookie entrepreneur as a “four or five.” But says her husband’s work tops out at “ten.”
Despite venturing into an entirely new world, Erika said, “I think it’s really a good business, but we can improve.” With summer here and the Colorado State Fair set to begin in just weeks, the Huizars know they have to be at the top of their game.
She’ll continue to work as the aesthetic hand in the business, decorating cakes and cookies, creating gift baskets and making sure each has a personal touch. Her husband, she said, will continue running the kitchen. But keeping the place running is a family affair.
It’s her oldest daughter, she said, who is Hopscotch’s manager. “She does the paperwork and payroll…she does all the orders.” The couple also have two other children. “They only come in to eat,” she jokes.
Hopscotch is located at 333 S. Union Avenue and is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For orders, call 719.542.4467.
