PEARLAND, Texas — This November a review of Pearland bakery The Puddery went viral, and since then lines have been wrapped around the building every day. The owner, Janel Prator, sais the impact on her business has been a blessing.
Prator started her business in 2006 while living in California.
“I started working for the phone company. We used to have potlucks and cookoffs. So, I wanted to impress my coworkers and I happened to bring pudding, and everyone loved it,” Prator said. “One of my coworkers said, 'You know what? This stuff is so good, you can sell it.'”
The California native moved to Houston two years ago and continued her business, eventually opening a brick-and-mortar in Pearland.
“I ship nationwide, so I needed a place to produce. Initially, it just started with renting a small table,” Prator said.
The business has grown in popularity. A big reason behind that growth is the food review by Keith Lee that went viral.
“He made an announcement. I was like, I need to do whatever I can to get noticed,” Prator said.
She said the day Keith Lee paid a visit she only had about four other customers, now the line wraps around the building before they even open.
“It's like 100 plus customers a day, and it hasn't stopped,” Prator said.
Some customers like Dre Lane braved the line more than once to get one of the popular sweet treats.
“This is like my second time coming back and, like, I could never beat the line, but the banana pudding is good,” Lane said.
Friday you could also spot customers from out of town who were in Houston visiting family and making it a point to visit the now-viral bakery.
“I’ve been here since Friday out of Florida. And, man, I heard it's worth coming to,” Bubba said.
With more people stopping by each day Prator said they’re going to need some more hands on deck.
“It went from a one-woman show to about four or five people helping every day. Prator said. "I'm looking to hire more people. We can't keep enough pudding in stock.”
The past month has been so busy, at one point she had to close after pulling a muscle in her arm but she’s thankful that her small business is thriving.
“It definitely felt like Christmas came early for me. It felt like I I'm going to survive because, at one point, I was nervous about how my business would survive and it was a struggle,” Prator said.“ But now, every day I come in and I'm like, I can't keep enough products in stock. You know, I have so many customers and I'm just honored and blessed.”