Joyfull Bites Café & Bakery will open its doors on Tuesday with a week-long grand opening that will include daily giveaways. 

A completely gluten-free café in East Texas opened in Tyler. Joyfull Bites Café & Bakery opened its doors on Tuesday and is celebrating a week-long grand opening.

The business, owned by Natalie Pounds, began over a year ago selling dairy and gluten-free baked goods to local coffee shops like Café 1948, The Lost Sheep, and The Coco Bean.

Pounds said the success of the business moved her to want to open her own brick and mortar.

“My business was doing well and I decided to open my own space so I could offer directly to consumers,” she said. “I was so encouraged with the amount of people that were looking for gluten free food items.”

Pounds said the desire to open the business came following her own medical diagnosis and mandatory change of diet.

“Cooking and baking has always been a huge passion of mine and after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder a few years ago I drastically had to change the way I prepared and consumed food,” she said. “I understood and witnessed that the food we consume plays a huge part in the health of our bodies. As a person who has a restricted diet I know how hard it can be to find healthier food options when eating out.”

Pounds said she hopes the café will be a place where customers can get delicious nourishment that satisfies your taste buds and fuels their body.

“We will offer breakfast and lunch options and of course lots of baked goods because that is what started this all. Everything we serve in our café will always be 100% gluten free,” she said. “We …are so excited to bring this to Tyler.”

Pounds said after the long process, she is excited to see the quick-counter service café finally open its doors.

“It feels surreal to finally be at the point of opening. There have been so many obstacles and so much hard work that has gone into this and now I feel like we’re at the fun part of sharing this with our community,” she said.

Joyfull Bites Café & Bakery will open on Tuesday and celebrate Grand Opening through Friday where there will be special giveaways daily.

Pounds said being located in the Mosaic District makes opening the business even more special.

“Being a part of the Mosaic District is so special to me. This community has been so supportive through this whole process and to be surrounded by so many other small business owners is extra special,” she said. “Special thank you to Jim and Janice Lowden the owners of the Mosaic District for their support and encouragement of my business.”

Joyfull Bites Café & Bakery is located at 2459 Mosaic Way, Suite B and can be reached at 903-266-9039. Hours of operation are Tues. through Fri. from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Joyfull Bites Facebook page.