When Valerie Saenz opened VS. Sugar Rush in 2023, she was fulfilling a dream of turning a lifelong passion into a business of her own.
“As a kid I loved to bake and growing up we always had big family parties and would pay so much money for desserts that were poor quality. So, when I mentioned to my family that I wanted to start selling the desserts I created, they were the first people to order from me and get me started,” she said.
Everything she currently does is a custom order, but she said she would love to start doing local pop-up shops during the upcoming holidays. “I would like to say my specialty is the decorated custom sugar cookies that I make; it is my favorite to do,” Saenz said.
“I am the owner, head baker, and employee of the month 12 times out of the year,” Saenz quipped. Although it’s mainly just her, when she has huge events, such as Soboba’s recent Academic Achievement Awards Ceremony at the Soboba Casino Resort Event Center on July 28, she has plenty of help to call upon.
“I can always count on my two children, Myah and Jerimyah, my parents Mike and Lynn Saenz, my Grams Rosemary, my four amazing aunties Diane, Celena, Amy, and Anita and my four siblings Alicia, Michael, Rayah and Qeweewish,” she said. “They are my biggest support system that will help with anything I need.”
Saenz said her favorite part of owning her own business is that she can control her lifestyle and her schedule. She enjoys being her own boss and building something of her own.
“My favorite part of being able to share my baking skills with everyone is seeing the look on everyone’s faces when I hand them the cakes, cookies, cupcakes or whatever it is that I created,” she said. “It makes all the stress and late nights worth it.”
Well known for her creativity, Saenz said her ideas come from many sources, including social media outlets such as Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok. When someone places an order and sends her a sample of what they would like, she switches some things around to make it her own. But she always delivers a product that customers are excited about.
The only challenge Saenz has experienced is finding the time to do it all. “Because I am basically a one-man band and I have a hard time telling customers ‘no,’ I will sometimes quadruple book in one weekend,” she said.
Dividing her time between the Soboba Indian Reservation and Temecula, the baker’s goal is to one day have her own storefront bakery. “To me, desserts will forever be in style and sugar makes everyone happy so I know I can be successful as long as I continue to work hard,” she said.
Saenz can be reached via email at vsugarrushh1@gmail.com, on Instagram @vs.sugarrush and on TikTok at VSSUGARRUSH.
Photos courtesy of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians
