Esperanza Ayard Benitez, founder of Con Amor Bakery & Cafe in Waterloo, Iowa. Photo by Fatma Osmancevic / Studio Faf, LLC.
Esperanza Ayard Benitez built Con Amor Bakery & Cafe from a home kitchen into a Waterloo storefront specializing in Mexican-inspired pastries.
By Carolina Martínez Vera
“I have always wanted something more for myself,” Esperanza Ayard Benitez says.
For years, that meant building something from her home in Waterloo. She took special orders, attended pop-up events and sold her baked goods through local businesses. Social media introduced more people to her work, and word of mouth brought customers back.
“I wasn’t the best scholar, so I also knew I couldn’t work a regular job,” she says. “My creativity led me to keep working toward my dreams.”
What began in her home kitchen eventually became Con Amor Bakery & Cafe, a storefront on East Fourth Street where Ayard now specializes in croissants and other laminated pastries with Mexican-inspired flavors.
But the years between those two places asked more of her than learning how to run a bakery.
“I was born and raised in Waterloo. I love our little town, but there aren’t very many fresh homemade-style bakeries here,” Ayard says. “I wanted to share that with the community and be an example for other Latinas here.”
From Her Home Kitchen to Her Own Bakery
Ayard built Con Amor one order at a time.
As demand grew, working from home became harder to sustain. She began thinking about a commercial space where she could produce more and give customers somewhere to sit down and enjoy what she made.
Getting there took years of saving, planning and searching.
Ayard spent months looking at commercial spaces throughout Waterloo before finding the location that felt right on East Fourth Street.
The possibility of opening her own storefront was exciting. It was also intimidating.
There were financial decisions to make, a space to prepare and more responsibility than she had carried while working from home. At times, Ayard questioned whether the bakery she had imagined would actually become real.
She kept going.
Along the way, she asked business owners, friends and family for advice. Some of that guidance helped her move forward. The experience also pushed her to become more confident in her own judgment.
Learning to Trust Herself
One of the hardest parts had little to do with baking.
“One of the biggest challenges I faced was not knowing how to handle constructive criticism, and not knowing how to say ‘no,’” Ayard says. “I have grown a lot from that. I learned that if I don’t feel comfortable or simply don’t want to do something, I won’t.”
That confidence came gradually.
Running a growing business meant making decisions while managing customers, finances, family responsibilities and the everyday work waiting to be done. Advice could be useful. So could knowing when something was not right for her.
By the time Con Amor was ready to open, Ayard had spent years learning both.
Opening the Doors
In spring 2025, after years of baking, saving and building a customer base, Ayard opened Con Amor Bakery & Cafe.
She already had customers who knew her work through pop-ups, special orders and social media. Now they had a place to visit.
Esperanza Ayard Benitez, founder of Con Amor Bakery & Cafe in Waterloo, Iowa. Photo by Fatma Osmancevic / Studio Faf, LLC.
The storefront also gave Ayard more room to keep developing her work. Con Amor specializes in croissants and other laminated pastries, with Mexican-inspired flavors incorporated throughout what she creates.
Its iced matcha and iced café lattes come in flavors such as churro, Mexican mocha, flan and mazapán. The refrigerated case includes slices of tres leches, and Ayard hopes to develop more pan dulce this year. She also hopes to expand the drink program and eventually offer hot options.
The business she once ran from home now has an address on East Fourth Street.
For Ayard, one of the rewards is seeing people respond to something that began as her own idea.
“I love to watch my ideas come to life, and my hard work be appreciated,” she says. “I love to connect with my customers and know that I could make their day a little better.”
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