'Delicious Tamales' in Austin is ready for busy holiday season

AUSTIN, Texas - This season is a busy one for many people, including Valerie Gonzalez, owner of Delicious Tamales.

With less than two weeks before Christmas, Delicious Tamales had to stop taking pre-orders, but that's not stopping Austin residents from walking in to try some authentic tamales.  

"We are a very seasonal business. The rest of the year we are busy but not as busy as the holidays," says Valerie Gonzalez, owner of Delicious Tamales.

Gonzalez says they make about 3,000 dozens daily.

"You know, tamales used to be the Hispanic people. It was just the Hispanics. They would make tamales for the Christmas holidays. Now it's cut across all cultures," says Gonzalez.

Valerie has been in the business for 40 years now, she says it's something she has enjoyed since she was a little girl.

"We've been making tamales forever. Forever. I can remember my grandmother telling me about her grandmother where they would make tamales during the holidays," says Gonzalez.

She remembers gathering around her grandmother's kitchen table and enjoying family time.

"Everybody would get together and make the tamales. The thing about the tamales that not too many people know is that there's always the chisme, the gossip, the gossip of the neighborhood," says Gonzalez.

Recipes and stories have been passed down for generations. Valerie hopes to soon be able to pass down the kitchen spoon to her daughter.

"She was born into the business. She was born in 1983. And I've been in business since 1980. So, she grew into the business. She went and she got her MBA. So now she's got all these modern ways of running a business," says Gonzalez.

Holiday preorder and prepayment ended on Dec. 9, orders to ship nationwide are paused after Dec. 12, but will resume in Jan 2023.

Delicious Tamales knows Christmas Eve will be a busy day for pickup. They will be giving out free tote bags will be given to first 50 in line on Dec. 24 beginning at 5 a.m.