Today we’d like to introduce you to Valentina Lopez.
Hi Valentina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story began about ten years ago, in 2016, when I received my degree as a professional chef from the culinary school in my home country, Venezuela, in a small coastal city called Punto Fijo. I had always loved desserts, so choosing a path within the culinary world came naturally to me, and without a doubt, it was pastry.
I started by making chocolates after completing a training program with a very well-known Venezuelan chocolatier who was doing incredible work in Italy, and I completely fell in love with that world. That’s when I decided to name my business La Bonbonnière—a play on words between bombones (chocolates in Spanish) and bonbonnière in French, a nod to France as the cradle of pastry in the world.
I was very happy running my business back home, despite the many difficulties my country was facing—and continues to face. Those challenges ultimately led me to make one of the hardest decisions of my life: closing my business and moving to the United States in search of a better future. When I arrived, I had to start completely from zero.
Shortly after moving here, I met my husband, and we quickly started a family. I had only been in the country for six months when I became pregnant with our first child. Those were very beautiful times. Even though La Bonbonnière was put on hold for a while, I began to connect in a very deep and meaningful way with my son. My husband is also an immigrant—he emigrated many years before I did—so our story is very much rooted in that shared experience. Together, we built our own little family.
During postpartum, while my husband worked and I stayed home caring for our son, I slowly began baking again during nap times. Baking helped me reconnect with something I loved and allowed me to feel like myself again. That’s when my husband tried my desserts for the first time since we had known each other—my cookies, something made by me. After having to close my business, I was honestly very traumatized and insecure about baking again, even at home.
When he tried them, he told me there was something genuinely special there and that I needed to allow myself to try again.
I was terrified. I truly believed that in such a saturated bakery market, there was no way I would have a chance in the United States—especially in Charlotte, where I literally knew only two people. I had no family and no close support system. But I did it anyway, and my husband supported me immensely, encouraging me every step of the way.
I opened an Instagram account here in Charlotte and began applying to local pop-ups and farmers markets to start sharing my work in this part of the world. This time, it wasn’t chocolates—it was cookies.
I began this chapter in 2023, after the birth of my son, and honestly, I was very focused on doing market after market, one after another. That consistency allowed us to slowly introduce our brand to the community, and over time, new opportunities began to open up.
Everything eventually aligned, and in 2025 we were able to open our first storefront in Uptown Charlotte. We are currently running our shop in the iconic Latta Arcade building, located at 320 South Tryon Street.
You can also find us on Saturdays at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and at the Uptown Farmers Market, and from time to time we still participate in larger pop-ups. We truly love staying connected to our community—it’s where everything began, and it will always hold a very special place in our hearts.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Overall, it has been fairly smooth. I genuinely like to focus on the positive side of things. That said, of course there have been challenges. For me, the biggest one has been finding balance between my personal life and the business. When you’re an entrepreneur, you tend to give absolutely everything of yourself, and it’s very hard to do that while also being fully present as a mom.
At times, I struggle with guilt for not being able to spend as much time as I would like with my son, because the business requires so much of me—and I love it. It’s a very complex feeling, because I deeply want to be there for him, but I also love giving so much of myself to what I do, as I truly feel this is one of my life’s purposes.
So I would say that finding balance has been the hardest part, and it’s also incredibly important, because that balance is what helps prevent burnout.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Although I am a pastry chef by training and by vocation, we truly specialize in gourmet cookies—that is the heart of our brand. Cookies are at the center of everything we do.
We currently have over 100 cookie flavors, which we rotate weekly so there are always nine thoughtfully curated, well-balanced flavor options available. We also make sure to always include gluten-free options, along with brownies and croissants.
What truly makes our cookies special, in my opinion, is how deeply we lean into culture. My husband is of Italian and Romanian descent, I come from a Latin American background, and we are also incredibly inspired by American culture, which we’ve grown to love and now proudly call our home. All of those influences come together in our flavors.
I feel like every cookie has its own personality. We love listening to our customers—who we lovingly call our Cookie Besties. They share ideas with us all the time, and we genuinely try to bring those ideas to life for them. At the end of the day, we put so much heart into what we do, and I truly believe that love shows in the final product.
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Something that might surprise people is that, even now, I walk into the shop every single day feeling scared. Despite being incredibly blessed to have a loyal community that supports us, makes us feel like we belong, and shows up for us time and time again, there’s still a part of me that fears no one will walk through the door.
That’s something I’ve been actively working on internally, and I’m very open about the fact that I go to therapy. I’ve learned how important it is to take care of my mental and emotional health while building something that means so much to me.
Another thing people might not expect is that I decompress by listening to very heavy metal music and connecting deeply with podcasts. It’s my way of releasing, grounding myself, and trusting that I’m doing what I was meant to do.
At the end of the day, I feel incredibly grateful. Our customers have become more than customers—they’ve become friends, family, and our community. Truly, the best community we could have ever dreamed of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Labonbonnierebakery.com
- Instagram: @labonbonnierebakery
- Facebook: La Bonbonniere Bakery
