Today we’d like to introduce you to Lilian Halabi.
Hi Lilian , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Lilian Halabi.
I am a Venezuelan native born to Syrian immigrant parents.
I moved to the United States December 10, 1995 after marrying my amazing and supportive husband, Sam Halabi and Harker Heights has been my home since.
I am known as Lily, The Cake Lady from Lily’s Cakes!
I come from a hard working family of merchants and farmers who have always been self employed and have an entrepreneurial mindset.
What started as a baking and cake decorating hobby in my home kitchen, while being a stay at home mother of three kids and attending school, grew to become one of Central Texas most famous bakery, Lily’s Cakes, in Harker Heights, Tx.
I opened my doors to the public in 2012 and we have since been part of people’s special occasions in life.
At Lily’s Cakes, we specialize in custom made cakes and cupcakes for all events. Especially, wedding cakes.
I am a completely self-taught baker and cake artist. Of course, I have an amazing team now to rely on.
I learned a lot of cake decorating tricks from watching cake shows on the FoodNetwork.
This hobby and love of what I do, landed me in many national televised cake competitions and shows, eight to be exact, and I became the winner of Cake Wars Monopoly episode in 2016 and Holiday Wars 2017 on the FoodNetwork.
I also finished second place on Halloween Wars season 11 in 2021.
Delivering wedding cakes alongside my husband to different venues in Central Texas, and being an entrepreneur at heart, gave us the idea of looking into the possibility of opening a wedding and event venue.
We started looking all over central Texas
and we found the perfect spot!… a beautiful hidden gem that looks like a Spanish style Mansion in Belton.
We purchased the property and another business venture started, La Rio Mansion.
A beautiful Spanish style mansion, perfect for gorgeous and romantic weddings in Belton, Tx.
Our grand opening was March 29, 2015.
We have been proudly serving central Texas couples and families for 10 years now.
We have three different ceremony areas to choose from.
A beautiful bridal suite and a fun groom’s quarters to get ready in and a spacious hall for reception.
We also offer in-house coordination and planning and we can build all inclusive packages according to the couples budget and vision.
In 2021, my husband and I acquired Acropolis Greek Cuisine restaurant. Right beside Lily’s Cakes and it has been a fun and enjoyable experience. We specialize in Greek and Mediterranean dishes and we also offer catering.
The love of what we do, opened another door, and this time we became franchise owners of Schlotzky’s in Central Texas, Temple, Belton, Harker Heights and Copperas Cove in 2024.
All this experience and networking with other local businesses in the event and hospitality industry, led to my newest project, alongside my great friend Naara Meas, My Quinces Expo. It is Central Texas first big quinceañera vendors expo taking place Sunday, September 14, 2025.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Overall, it has been a great experience!
The support and love the community has shown us, is indescribable.
The early days at the bakery were very long. I even had a small living room in the back of the store where I can have my babies while I finished my orders. But it payed off!
The pandemic definitely changed things for us. The uncertainty and lack of knowledge of what was to come was hard.
Things were getting a little rough in 2020 and 2021 due to the lack of income coming in.
We had to do a lot of things ourselves around the venue, like the housekeeping and yard work since we couldn’t afford hiring professionals to do it.
I even listed the venue property on Airbnb so we can get some income when we didn’t have events.
I kept Lily’s Cakes afloat by doing curbside pick ups, making toilet paper cupcakes that went semi viral and even shipped DIY cupcake kits all over the nation through my online Etsy shop.
I learned how to plan and coordinate events during this time and I can call myself a wedding and event planner and coordinator now!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am an entrepreneur, a business owner, a self-taught cake artist, professional baker, catering coordinator, wedding and events planner and coordinator, a wife and a mother of three amazing children!
I am very proud of everything I have achieved alongside my husband by hard work, dedication and love for what I do.
What sets me apart from others, is how much I appreciate each and every customer who chooses our services. I can also communicate in three different languages, Spanish, Arabic and English!
We are being part of people’s special celebrations and I Love It!
I love what I do and I do what I love and I never feel like I am actually working!
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I consider myself living the American Dream!… especially since I come from two different countries where people are constantly struggling to survive.
I would like to thank everyone who has been a part of our business success and journey!
Thank you for all the support and love this community has given us!
Thank you to all the couples who have trusted me with their big day at La Rio Mansion and at Lily’s Cakes!
A huge thank you to my amazingly supportive husband who has been by my side through this journey and has shared tears of joy and pain with me!
Thank you to my beautiful children, Amir, Ines and Zeina, for being such Great exemplary kids!
I am a super proud momma and have to brag about them please!… Amir is a Harvard graduate student from the Graduate School of Design in Architecture.
Ines is currently pursuing her Masters in Education at Harvard.
And Zeina is a sophomore at McCombs School of Business at UT Austin and future Lawyer.
Pricing:
- $4950
- $5500
- $7250
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lariomansion.com and www.lilyscakes.com
- Instagram: @lariomansion. @lilyscakesbakery
- Facebook: @lariomansion @lilyscakes
Image Credits
Naara Meas photography
Bear Moose and Fox photography
Tamika Shans photography
