Sin Gluten Co., the name of Estefany Contreras’ upcoming Mexican bakery in Grover Beach, appears straightforward enough, but its meaning is actually deeply layered and personal.
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Sin Gluten Co., located at 191 South Oak Park Blvd., unit 1, in Grover Beach, is aiming to open its doors by March. Track the company’s progress via Instagram @singlutenco. For more information, visit singlutenco.com.
“The ‘Co.’ stands for Contreras and is also a nod to conchas, one of my favorite bakery items,” she explained. “‘Sin’ simply means ‘without’ in Spanish but ‘bad’ in English, so it reflects my focus on creating delicious gluten-free treats.”
Gluten has no double meaning. It’s the protein found in wheat, barley, and rye that attacks the small intestines of celiacs, including herself.
Put the words together, and Sin Gluten Co. perfectly encapsulates her nickname: “Professional Gluten Destroyer.”
“I love memes and anything funny, so it felt fitting,” she said. “Basically, I destroy gluten wherever I can.”
Contreras was born in Ciudad Guzmán in Jalisco, México, raised in Santa Maria, and now resides in Nipomo.
Her professional journey stemmed from ongoing, unexplained gut issues since childhood that required constant doctors’ visits and necessitated a bland, boring diet consisting primarily of “almond milk and tortilla con frijoles,” she said.
It wasn’t until 2020, while studying psychology and researching how food impacts physical and mental health at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, that she was diagnosed with celiac disease.
“That diagnosis completely changed my relationship with food and pushed me into the gluten-free world out of necessity,” she explained. “What started as experimenting and learning how to re-create foods I grew up loving eventually turned into a career shift.
“Before launching Sin Gluten Co., I worked in behavioral health, social work, and caregiving. Those roles shaped my approach to business—very people-centered, empathetic, and intentional. Sin Gluten Co. was born from combining these work skills with my personal experience of needing safe, gluten-free food that still felt comforting, connecting, cultural, and high-quality.”
From 2020 through 2024, Contreras baked primarily for herself, friends, and family.
“During that time, I was refining recipes, learning about celiac disease, and understanding what the celiac community actually needs, not just what tastes good, but what feels trustworthy,” she said.
“Friends and family encouraged me to share what I was making, and that feedback is what pushed me to take the idea seriously. Hearing ‘this doesn’t taste gluten-free’ over and over again was the moment I realized this could become something real.”
After returning from a trip to Mexico in early 2025, where Contreras received additional health news “that really reframed how I cared for my body,” she said, “I decided it was time to fully commit. That moment clarified everything for me.”
She officially registered her business in February and for the past year used The Kitchen Terminal in San Luis Obispo to bake, assemble, and distribute her pan dulce via nationwide shipping, local delivery through Harvestly, and in-person pickups.
“Moving into a commercial kitchen was a major turning point,” she said. “It allowed me to scale production, sell consistently, and start building the foundation that ultimately led to opening my own brick-and-mortar space.”
Sin Gluten Co. offers a wide variety of sweet and savory baked goods, all of which contain certified gluten-free and highly vetted ingredients, with non-dairy options available as well.
“My absolute favorite pan … is an ojo, a Mexican version of a biscuit with a round, eyelike center,” Contreras said. “It’s lightly sweetened, has hints of vanilla, and is buttery.”
She also adores chocolate, particularly her galleta chocochip. It’s a polvorón, meaning dust or powder, with a crumbly, shortbread-like texture, semisweet chocolate chips, and light Mexican cinnamon notes.
Customer favorites include conchas (seashells), puerquitos (little pigs), and cuernitos (little horns).
“I’m always experimenting with new gluten-free treats to add to the lineup,” she added.
For her new, 1,000-square-foot space, anticipated to open by March, she envisions a grab-and-go shop that will eventually transition to a full-service seated café and bakery, if all goes to plan.
Her long-term goal is to become an educator and for Sin Gluten Co. to “become a resource for celiacs—not just a panadería [bakery], but a place to learn and feel supported,” she said.
On her website she adds that she not only uses her platform to advocate for those with celiac or gluten sensitivities, but also for individuals with other allergies and disorders, such as PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), which she suffers from as well.
“Too often, our struggles get brushed aside, or worse, we get made fun of,” she explained. “Food should be joy, not fear. And if I can help bring that joy back, even just one puerquito or polvorón at a time, then I know I’m doing what I was meant to do.”
As Contreras puts the final touches on her new bakery, she reflects that it was a difficult road, but finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel “feels amazing.”
“This has been a dream that grew slowly, quietly, and very intentionally over time,” she said. “There were moments when it felt far away or unrealistic, especially while navigating chronic illness, finances, and figuring things out on my own.
“Seeing Sin Gluten Co. turn into a real, physical bakery after all these years feels incredibly validating. It’s not just about opening a business, it’s about honoring everything I’ve been through to get here and proving to myself that this dream was always possible.” Δ
Flavor writer Cherish Whyte loves Estefany’s passion as much as her pan dulce. Reach her at cwhyte@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2026.