Empty Nest, Stray Dog, Full Oven: Inside Cake Fine Pastry episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 2, 2026 · 23 MIN

Empty Nest, Stray Dog, Full Oven: Inside Cake Fine Pastry

from Cruz through HTX · host Freddy Cruz

Baker and business owner Liz Hale shares how a skinny street dog named Rihanna helped her family weather empty‑nest syndrome, post‑COVID gut punches, and the grind of running Cake Fine Pastry and Plum Coffee Shop in Houston. Rescues, cake, grit, and a whole lot of cheese tax. Connect with Cake Fine Pastry HERE. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify and YouTube! This season of Cruz through HTX is powered by Speke Podcasting. Have an idea for a show? Let's get a conversation started. Start HERE. Key Takeaways 1. How a rescued “diaper dog” became the emotional glue of an empty‑nest household. 2. Street‑dog reality in Houston and why keeping Rihanna was a no‑brainer. 3. The post‑COVID beating independent bakeries took and why Liz refused to fold. 4. What customer obsession looks like when you’re literally getting tickets to deliver cakes. 5. Why being “meant” to own a business shows up most on the hardest days.Support the show: https://cruzthroughhtx.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NOW PLAYING

Empty Nest, Stray Dog, Full Oven: Inside Cake Fine Pastry

0:00 23:01

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

French Your Way Jessica: Native French teacher founder of French Your Way Boost your French listening skills and test your comprehension with this one of a kind series of podcasts. Get the chance to listen to a real conversation between native speakers talking at normal speed AND customise your learning experience through carefully designed sets of questions (2 levels of difficulty) available for download at www.frenchvoicespodcast.com. All interviews also come with the transcript. French teacher Jessica interviews native speakers of French from around the world who share a bit of their life and passion. Where else would you meet in one same place a French yoga teacher based in Melbourne, a soap manufacturer from Provence, or a couple cycling around the world? Kaizen Blueprint Aldo Chandra "Kaizen" is a Japanese term for continuous improvement. This podcast provides a blueprint to learn about health, wealth, relationships and everything else in between. Through our podcast, we strive to inspire, educate, and motivate our audience to cultivate a mindset of lifelong learning, productivity, and personal development. By sharing insights, strategies, and practical tips, we aim to guide listeners on their journey towards realizing their fullest potential, fostering success, and creating lasting positive change. Solving for Change MOBIA Technology Innovations Solving for Change welcomes business and technology leaders to share stories of bold business transformation within complex organizations. In an era when technology and markets are changing around businesses, the key to staying competitive is to evolve in response to those changes.  MOBIA’s Mike Reeves and Marc LeBlanc investigate business transformation, deconstructing the challenges, ambitions, and market disruptions that drive companies to embark on transformation journeys, and exploring their unique approaches to achieving meaningful outcomes.  What sparks leaders to pursue business transformation? How do they overcome the challenges along the way? What are the keys to creating enduring change?  Through in-depth conversations with business and technology leaders, Mike and Marc answer these questions and explore how businesses evolve by pulling four key transformation levers: people, process, technology, and culture. MuppetWatch petervulfranc MuppetWatch is a journey through entertainment and popular culture using The Muppet Show as our guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Cruz through HTX?

This episode is 23 minutes long.

When was this Cruz through HTX episode published?

This episode was published on March 2, 2026.

What is this episode about?

Baker and business owner Liz Hale shares how a skinny street dog named Rihanna helped her family weather empty‑nest syndrome, post‑COVID gut punches, and the grind of running Cake Fine Pastry and Plum Coffee Shop in Houston. Rescues, cake, grit, and...

Can I download this Cruz through HTX episode?

Yes, you can download this episode by clicking the download button on the episode player, or subscribe to the podcast in your preferred podcast app for automatic downloads.
URL copied to clipboard!