10/14/2026
💕 Meet Betsy & Karla: The Sisters Behind Victors Bakehouse! 🍰
What’s it like running a bakery with your sister? For Betsy Merlos Biggs and Karla Merlos, it’s a little bit of everything: laughter, creativity, teamwork, and a whole lot of sisterly love!
Their story starts with a joke that perfectly captures their relationship. “We always joke that we were supposed to be twins, but I pushed her egg out of the way to be the only girl,” Betsy shared. 😂 And here’s the funny part: 35 years later, despite their 15-year age gap, the two are sometimes mistaken for twins by people who don’t know them well!
But how does that sisterly bond translate to working together in the kitchen? Betsy admits it took some getting used to, but the sisters have learned to appreciate what makes their partnership work. They’re both detail-oriented, understand each other’s standards, and know when something simply isn’t quite right.
Betsy explained that they understand why certain things can’t be substituted and when something they’ve made doesn’t meet the standards they have for Victors. That shared attention to detail helps them work together toward the same goal: creating something they’re proud to put in front of their customers.
And the best part? The laughter! Betsy says one of the first things that comes to mind when she thinks about working with her sister is how much they laugh together. They understand each other’s tone, communicate differently than they might with other coworkers, and have a natural rhythm that makes the workday easier when it’s just the two of them. ❤️
✨ So, what does hospitality mean to them?
For Karla, hospitality comes down to one important thing: empathy.
“When I think hospitality, I think empathy,” she shared. To her, a restaurant or bakery offers so much more than food. “You’re offering friendship, love, and care.”
It’s about putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and thinking about what you’d want to receive from a bakery or expect on a special night out. And for Karla, consistency matters just as much as the experience itself.
Sometimes, that philosophy shows up in the smallest gestures.
Take this adorable teddy bear cake! 🧸🎂 When a table was celebrating a baby shower, the customers trusted Betsy to create a cake with a bear on it and gave her the freedom to make it her own. She made sure it was extra cute!
Another baby shower party realized they’d forgotten their cupcake picks and offered to put them on themselves. But rather than leave one more thing on their to-do list, Betsy took care of it for them. They had enough to worry about while preparing for their event, and this was one little thing she could do to make their day easier.
As Betsy put it, sometimes it’s just the little things.
And that right there is what makes this story so sweet. It’s not just about the beautiful cakes or the finished desserts. It’s about listening, working together, paying attention to the details, and finding ways to make someone’s celebration a little more special. 💗
🎨 What keeps them passionate about baking?
For Betsy, it’s the creative outlet. It’s not just decorating cakes and making pastries; it’s creating fun flavors and experimenting with ingredients in unexpected ways. She even talked about a w**e dinner where rosemary was incorporated into a dish, sharing how fun it was to see how one ingredient could completely change the experience.
And when it comes to their favorite part of working at Victors, the answer comes back to the people.
Karla shared that many of her coworkers have become like family. They’re the people she wants to share her accomplishments with, and that sense of connection makes the work meaningful beyond what’s happening in the kitchen.
From the laughter they share as sisters to the creativity they bring to their work, Betsy and Karla remind us that a great bakery is about so much more than what’s in the display case.
It’s about the people, the care, and the little moments that make someone feel special. And at Victors Bakehouse, these sisters are helping make those moments a little sweeter, one creation at a time. 🍰❤️
