Rosemary raisin crisps from Hippos & Hashbrowns. Photo courtesy of Sandra Daniels.
Hippos & Hashbrowns is opening a brick-and-mortar bakery at Casa View Shopping Center.
The bakery owned by East Dallas resident Sandra Daniels is celebrating a grand opening Saturday at 2349 Gus Thomasson Road. Stop by 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for fresh and frozen, ready-to-bake treats.
Daniels has been selling homemade goodies for years. She started as a cottage baker, focusing on cracker-like crisps when she realized no one local was making them. She outgrew her home and moved into a commercial kitchen in Casa Linda, and now she has her own place. The product line at Hippos & Hashbrowns has also expanded to include biscuits, sourdough waffles, granola, muffins and cakes (but no hash browns).
“It’s a lot of vintage, old-style things that people love,” Daniels said.
The items can be found at Good Local Markets in addition to the Casa View store.
Daniels’ journey began while she was living in Kenya and Tanzania for 14 years as a missionary.
“The business was really born out of that experience of wanting to help people eat really good, quality food and show them how simple it can be to eat good, wholesome food made with just a few ingredients,” she said.
Biscuits from Hippos & Hashbrowns. Photo courtesy of Sandra Daniels.
When she started, Daniels said people told her Hippos & Hashbrowns was a terrible name for a bakery. But she already had a logo that her daughter-in-law designed, and she knew it was a memorable name.
After the holiday season of 2021, Daniels said she knew she needed to find her own space. In May 2022, she signed a lease for a former office in the courtyard area at Casa View Shopping Center, which she had visited since she was a kid.
Renovation work on the 800 square foot space included asbestos abatement, ripping out the shag carpet, tearing down some walls and adding the baking equipment. The counter at the front, made by the Highway 19 farmer (another Good Local Markets vendor), features a door taken from Daniels’ grandmother’s house. Daniels said the door is probably over 100 years old.
“It feels very surreal,” Daniels said. “Cannot, cannot believe it. I’m like, wow, this Saturday, we’re actually going to be here, selling stuff to people.”
Hippos & Hashbrowns will be open 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday.
