For years, Stellar Coffee Co. (Stellar Coffee) was a hot spot amoung some students, providing a calm study atmosphere. When the coffee shop closed its doors on Sept. 9, 2023, it created an opportunity for the De La Cruz family to honor what Stellar Coffee did by creating a bright pink atmospheric coffeehouse for students to study in.
The Sweet Shop, located at 232 N LBJ Drive, offers a calm space for students to study and enjoy sweet treats made at the shop. The woman-owned coffee shop has more in mind what it wants to do with the community and students.
“We hope to provide a calm quiet study place for students to be able to get their work done and to treat themselves with a little dessert and coffee,” Owner Debbie De La Cruz said.
The Sweet Spot’s goal is to offer as much as they can for students. Free WiFi for paying customers, a relaxing atmosphere for students to study in and new desserts and foods are ways the business has begun working toward its goal.
Debbie first created The Sweet Spot with her two daughters Katarina and Kasandra De La Cruz. The Sweet Spot started as a dessert food truck in New Braunfels in April 2021 used for wedding catering and big community events. After reading an article about former coffee shop Stellar Coffee shutting down, The Sweet Spot opened its doors in San Marcos in October 2023.
“We made contact with the owner of the building and took a little tour of the space and decided we wanted to open up The Sweet Spot here,” Debbie said.
Katarina has a small cake business part of The Sweet Spot called Vintage Cakes. Debbie wanted to have a physical storefront for desserts that she and her two daughters make.
“My goals for Vintage Cakes is to hire bakers,” Katarina said. “Whether it be a Texas State student or anyone else qualified to make cakes every day. That way the fridge that holds the cakes is always fully stocked for anyone who needs a last minute,” Katarina said.
The De La Cruz family decided to stick with the shop’s roots and added coffee and other foods to the menu.
“Being that students knew this location as a coffee shop we figured we would add coffee to our menu,” Debbie said. “That way students can enjoy coffee and dessert while studying.”
Daniela Neri, a senior anthropology major, enjoys going to The Sweet Spot for the atmosphere and coffee. Neri enjoys seeing a woman-owned business getting recognition and hopes to make The Sweet Spot her go to study space.
“When I study I need a nice atmosphere to work in,” Neri said. “There are many places on campus that can have a calm and quiet space but I enjoy looking for new places to study and The Sweet Spot has that welcoming atmosphere that a coffee shop should have. They have amazing treats and snacks to offer and the Horchata Coffee is my go to when going to the shop.”
The Sweet Spot celebrated its ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by The San Marcos Area Chamber’s Ambassador Club on Jan. 18, welcoming it as a new member of the San Marcos business community.
With The Sweet Spot getting more recognition, Debbie hopes to plan more events for students and the community to be a part of.
“We hope we can have events like decorating tote bags, workshops and allowing small businesses to set up in our shop to show support for the community and possibly even inspire students with small businesses to set up events with us as well,” Debbie said.
