What do international singer Vikki Carr and acclaimed actress Eva Longoria have in common? Besides a love for all things San Antonio, both women used Nadler’s bakery for their wedding cakes—and they aren’t the only ones. Customers have flocked to Nadler’s since 1963 for mouthwatering cakes, cookies, brownies, pastries, and other sweet treats created by founder Hans Nadler. Since his death in 2022, daughter Alexia Nadler-Mendez has taken over the business that has served multiple generations of families over the past 60 years.

“We have a long history with many of our customers,” says Mendez. “We once did a wedding cake for the fourth generation of the same family.”

All of the recipes are the creation of Mendez’s father, who was born and raised in Switzerland. However, it wasn’t until he began “Americanizing” his offerings in the 1970s that Nadler’s started to take off. Specifically? It was his creation of the strawberry whipped cream cake that has become synonymous with the name Nadler.

“When you mention Nadler’s, the first thing that comes to mind for almost everyone is that cake,” says Mendez, adding that people often request it as their wedding cake. “It’s what put us on the map.”

What makes it so special? It starts with a moist, custard-filled vanilla cake, the sides of which are iced in whipped cream and covered in crunchy coconut macaroon bits. Then it’s topped with a not-too-sweet, melt-in-your-mouth strawberry glaze and finished with more whipped cream because, honestly, can you ever have too much?

“People have an attachment to that cake,” laughs Mendez. “It has superpowers.”

Speaking of superpowers, the wife of former Spurs super powerhouse David Robinson is said to be a huge fan of Nadler’s white chocolate champagne cake. This decadent vanilla cake with its white chocolate mousse filling is soaked in champagne, topped with more mousse, and then covered in white chocolate bark.

“We customize it for Mrs. Robinson, who prefers it without the champagne,” says Mendez.

That level of customer care and customization has made Nadler’s near and dear to the hearts of San Antonio residents for the past six decades. Known for going above and beyond, they have traveled from one end of the state to the other delivering their famous cakes, once flying to Florida to accommodate a bride who requested the renowned strawberry whipped cream cake for a wedding.

“The passion that my parents had, and the care and the love that they put into what they did, is something that we are known for and that I am committed to carrying on,” says Mendez, who spent her youth in the bakery watching her mother and father work together to build their business, like their cakes, from scratch.

“The bakery was born in 1963, and I was born in 1965, so we literally grew up together,” she laughs, recalling how she sometimes fell asleep under the office desk when the shop stayed open late. “It’s in my blood.”

It is also in the blood of Mendez’s daughter, who currently helps in the bakery and plans to start taking courses in business management when she enters college in the fall. Mendez hopes that she and her two brothers will take the business to the next generation of Nadler’s devotees.

“I’m trying to keep it strong for another generation,” says Mendez. “That’s my goal.”