Playing in the kitchen always kept young Alicia Rubio happy. An only child for 15 years, some of her early memories are of bonding with her grandmother while baking.
“I don’t know Spanish, but my grandma’s more of a Spanish speaker, so we had to figure out a way to understand each other more. Baking was what helped us,” Rubio told New Times.
They made conchas together, laying a foundation for Rubio’s career working in bakeries.
“We couldn’t figure out the sugar part on top when I was younger. … Grandma used to talk crap because she couldn’t get the sugar to stick, but we figured it out,” Rubio remembered with a laugh.
Get it from the mamas
Message @bigmamasbakery8055 to place an order for shipping or for pickup at locations between Pismo Beach and Lompoc. The owners regularly stock goods at VP Racing Fuels (3705 Constellation Road) in Lompoc, too.
Today, Rubio connects with her wife, Rose Angulo, over baking and cooking, too. The Guadalupe couple started their cottage business, Big Mamas Bakery, almost two years ago. They make deliveries nearly every day between Pismo Beach and Lompoc with common stops in Santa Maria, Nipomo, and Guadalupe.
“Shockingly I’ve actually gotten an order out in Santa Barbara because I have family that lives out there,” Rubio added.
A few months ago, she quit her job to pursue their small business full time because she wanted to be her own boss. Rubio drives her wife and their son to school in Nipomo, where Angulo works as a teacher, and then Rubio spends the whole day baking.
After picking them up in the late afternoon, Rubio makes deliveries at pickup spots up and down the Central Coast until as late as 9:30 p.m. Then, she wakes up and does it all over again.
Big Mamas Bakery has a different theme for each day of the week. It helps Rubio stick to a schedule because otherwise she’d get carried away making all types of sweets in one sitting.
Munchie Mondays are reserved for brownies and cookies. Rubio is known to whip up classic brownies as well as Oreo and peanut butter flavors.
She has a “really good” chocolate chip cookie recipe that can be made into normal size snacks or mini two-biters.
“I try to do both sets, so whatever cookies I could do, I could do minis as well so that we can have a party pack,” she said of the small ones, which remind her of cookies she used to eat at the mall.
Tone it Down Tuesdays are for resting, but the business picks up again with cheesecakes on Whip It Wednesdays. Dulce de leche is always a crowd favorite, and also popular right now are Oreo and pumpkin. The business owner said she’ll make between 20 and 25 cheesecakes on an average Wednesday.
Sticky Icky Thursdays are reserved for what Rubio is best known for: cinnamon rolls. She’s found that she can experiment the most with the sticky breakfast treats. For a while, Rubio was the creative baker at Old West Cinnamon Rolls in Pismo Beach, crafting the special variations there. She takes pride in changing the dough’s ingredients rather than just adding toppings or special frosting.
“I actually change the insides, so like my pumpkin spice is actually pumpkin spice throughout the whole cinnamon roll instead of just natural cinnamon,” Rubio explained. “I also do an Oreo roll. That one comes out in October. That one is actually just pure Oreos throughout it, there’s no cinnamon in it.”
Another combo from her repertoire, which has yet to drop at Big Mamas, is an apple pie roll with pie filling and a crumble topping. The possibilities are endless.
Foodie Friday is the baker’s choice. Rubio typically revisits popular items from the week, so more customers have a chance to purchase them. Cherry cheesecake sold out one week in August, but Rubio brought it back on Foodie Friday. That rhythm helps the couple cut down on food waste, too.
‘I actually change the insides, so like my pumpkin spice is actually pumpkin spice throughout the whole cinnamon roll instead of just natural cinnamon.’
—Alicia Rubio, Big Mamas Bakery co-owner
Hungry weekend customers can enjoy the newest addition, Sabroso Saturday, which has featured green chicken pozole so far. Shifting away from sweets, Sabroso Saturday could be the precursor to the next phase of business. Rubio dreams of opening a food truck one day and has started baking her own bread to make sandwiches.
“I really want to have a food truck. I don’t just want a bakery,” Rubio said. “I’ve always been in restaurants as well.”
To wrap up the weekend, the bakers present Sweet Tooth Sunday. It’s the wives’ original themed day from when they started Big Mamas Bakery. With an entrepreneurial spirit, they set out to prove themselves.
Anyone can put a box mix in the oven, but Rubio is a “real baker,” Angulo said of her wife.
Customers compliment their goods, saying it tastes just like their grandma’s treats. The business owners want people to take a bite and feel comforted.
Angulo gives a lot of credit to her wife. She’s seen Rubio build herself back up amid personal struggles, inspiring others to write their own success stories. They also want to show their son that he comes from a line of strong, capable women.
“We’re proud that we’re brown and we’re gay,” Angulo said.
She’s had her own fair share of struggles. Angulo started this chapter of her life when she was living in a homeless shelter, running a separate dessert business named Rositas Manzanitas.
“We’ve been told we can’t do it,” Angulo said. “I want everybody to know that we did it. That Alicia did it.” ∆
Reach Sun Staff Writer Madison White, from New Times’ sister paper, enjoying a ‘sticky icky’ cinnamon roll at mwhite@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sept 3, 2026.
