Stephanie Alaniz, a certified pastry chef, joined The Willows team in July of 2023 as a baking specialist. She had attended Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin and completed an internship at Ninety-Two Bakery and Café, so the leaders of our hospitality brands were excited to hire her.
Stephanie and her brother were adopted by their grandparents as children. They all live together in Levelland, Texas, about 20 minutes west of Lubbock. The drive, however, does not stop Stephanie from arriving to work at 3am each day. She seems to have come by it honestly. Stephanie’s grandmother, despite facing several health challenges recently, manages to regularly visit the cafe; she is so proud of Stephanie.
Stephanie cuts pastry dough with precision.
Reagan Sanchez, café manager for Ninety-Two Bakery and Café, shares that Stephanie has elevated their food by “taking our crazy ideas and making them practical.” She’s brought a new level of excellence to the food and pastries for both Ninety-Two and The Willows.
In May of this year, storms and high winds hit the small town of Levelland, knocking out electricity and closing roads. Roofs were ripped off homes, gas meters were broken, property was damaged, and eight people were injured. Stephanie couldn’t come to work because of road closures, and the family lost all the food in their refrigerator and freezer.
Reagan knew that these losses would take a toll on the Alaniz family. She was aware that Betenbough has assisted in situations like this before, so Reagan went to Emily Kate (E.K.) Smith, connections specialist, to discuss what kind of immediate help they could offer. The two decided that a gift card for groceries would provide the most practical and immediate benefit.
E.K. and Reagan, together with Alyssa Mendez, hospitality director, and Jessica Layton, assistant café manager, presented Stephanie with an encouraging note and a gift card. Stephanie was surprised by the generosity of her team. When she recovered from the shock, she sent them a message of heartfelt gratitude. Stephanie says, “I was very grateful to be working for a company who looks out for their employees. It helped us greatly after we had that bad storm.”
When asked how she feels about being able to help the Alaniz family, Reagan explains that the generosity built into our company culture allows her to put people first. She says, “Betenbough is hardwired to take good care of others.”
While the Ninety-Two Bakery and Café team has always been generous with their time and talents, they’ve recently grown to be able to give financially, as well! Reagan is excited that the Ninety-Two business now gets to be generous to others in many ways, as God has been generous to us.
