When the owners of Dulce de Leche bakery picked up their phone on Sunday night, one of their usual vendors was calling to ask an unexpected favor.
Could they make a birthday cake for Lionel Messi?
It was around 9 p.m., and they had already closed shop. For anyone else, the answer may have been a flat “no.” But the request was urgent, and for a player who had brought this Argentinian-American family from New Jersey so much joy.
That his teammates wanted to surprise Messi ahead of his 37th birthday before the clock struck 12 didn’t matter.
“One of his teammates that reached out just said, ‘We want to celebrate his birthday for him in his room at midnight. What can you guys do?’” bakery owner Julieta Urgilles tells The Athletic. “So of course, we rallied.”
The bakery scrambled, picking up employees from their homes and heading to their West New York shop to get to work. The request didn’t come with any specifics. But the bakery knew Messi’s favorite would be their traditional “house cake,” filled with cream, peaches and dulce de leche. They also threw in their famous “sandwiches de miga” (crustless sandwiches) and a few other treats.
With a 40-minute drive between their store and Short Hills, where the Argentina team was staying ahead of Tuesday’s Copa America game against Chile at MetLife, their delivery made it there just in time at 11:30 p.m.
While the bakery had to initially remain discreet about their star client, once Messi shared pictures of his cake, the floodgates opened for Dulce de Leche bakery. They’ve received some attention on social media and messages of congratulations. Images of their pastries and cake flooded Argentinian and international press.
“It’s been great, but it’s also just a really big honor to have been a part of it,” Julieta says. “We feel like he’s brought our family, and our country and the community, just such joy and pride, and it was our ‘thank you’ to him. We’re just really excited about it and something we’ll never forget.”
The Urgilleses have operated Dulce de Leche bakery for 17 years, beginning with a shop in West New York, New Jersey, and adding two locations in Jersey City and Englewood. The store is family-run and will be expanding again next month with a new, 5,000-square foot store in downtown Miami.
The business traces back to when the Urgilleses migrated to the United States from Argentina in 1989. “My dad (was the) typical immigrant story. He did a lot of other things, but always had this idea of starting an Argentinian bakery because at the time there was nothing (like it),” Julieta said. “It started with this really tiny 900-square-foot store in West New York. It took a couple of years, but just kind of really took off.”
The business has since evolved into a local staple in New Jersey, transcending beyond the local Argentinian community and becoming a favorite for foodies of all backgrounds. As Messi’s popularity exploded since winning the World Cup in 2022, so did the popularity of anything and all things Argentinian.
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Places like Miami, long considered a destination for Argentinians, also exploded. “In Miami, it’s crazy,” Julieta jokes. “Miami might as well be Argentina at this point.”
That growth, too, was fueled even more with Messi’s surprise arrival to Inter Miami last year. Suddenly, fans were flocking there for not just the culture, but for the football, too. Given all this, and the fact that Julieta’s parents moved to Miami with the intention of retiring, it was a “no-brainer” for Dulce de Leche to open shop in the Floridian city.
“I mean, they weren’t looking to work because they wanted to retire,” Julieta said. “But (with) the Argentinian community in Miami and then now with Messi being there, it was kind of a no-brainer. We get requests every day from people all over the country saying like, ‘open one here, open one there.’ And Miami has become a second home for all of us.”
Next month, when Dulce de Leche opens those new doors, on the wall will be an image of Messi.
It may just be a photo that millions will recognize: one of Messi proudly holding up his own Messi-themed birthday cake surrounded by members of Argentina’s national team, days before the team beat Chile before a sold-out crowd at MetLife Stadium. Next to Messi are Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo De Paul and a few more of Messi’s closest friends.
There’s an array of delicious treats scattered on the hotel bed in front of them, and, if you look closely, you’ll see the logos of Dulce de Leche bakery proudly on display, too.
(Top photo: @leomessi/Instagram)
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