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NEDERLAND — As Mardi Gras nears, Golden Croissant is ready for the surge in king cake orders. The bakery, located at 2904 Highway 365, offers 12 flavors, but also allows customers to request any combination as well.

Ginny Nguyen, who owns the establishment with her daughter, said they sold more than 1,000 king cakes during Mardi Gras last year.

“We have people who buy them for their churches and use them for fundraisers,” she said. “Churches, alone, order hundreds of them. Last year, we did boudin king cakes and everyone was crazy about it. This year, Anita is so busy with her cakes, you have to book her about four months in advance for specialty cakes. We don’t have the power to do anymore boudin ones, and we are so busy with the sweet ones. Nguyen’s daughter, Anita Nguyen, owns Caked by Anita, which operates out of the same location.

“After my husband passed, we were going to sell,” Ginny Nguyen said. “(Anita) came in and said she could do cakes and started making them. She never went to school to learn how to do them. She graduated in business management. We’ve been very lucky that even with COVID, we have still done OK. Luckily, we already had catering established, so when COVID took over, we were still OK.

“This year, we are staying with what we do best.”

On top of the delicious king cakes, the eatery has been a mainstay in Mid County for decades, serving sandwiches, salads, cakes and pastries.

“This location was built 27 years ago and I took over the business about 25 years ago,” Nguyen said. “This business has been in the area for 38 years. Almost five years, my husband passed and my daughter became my partner. She’s young, so her outlook is different. She remodeled. She’s very talented. So much has improved since she started helping.”

As the name suggests, the eatery specializes in bread and other pastry delights.

“We make our French bread from scratch,” she said. “We are the only ones around here that make it from scratch, even our croissants. Most people selling croissants from the donut places buy them from Houston. We bake it from flower. That is why we do good. We make them daily without preservatives. You can taste the difference.”

Nguyen enjoys the chicken almond salad and recommends it to indecisive customers or those just willing to try something new.

She said the relationships with her customers and the community bring her the most joy.

“My favorite thing is to make a wedding cake for a mom and dad and then the child comes back,” she said.

“You make a cake for the child and then, the child gets married. I’ve been in it that long. I’ve seen three generations. In the summer, you always have a group of young people come and say that they used to come here as a child. It’s very satisfying to see they longtime customers come back.”