¡Hola & hey y'all!
Amelis Paz-Kerlin came to The United States more than 27 years ago from Venezuela. She and her husband Bill Kerlin opened the nationally recognized barbecue joint Kerlin BBQ in 2013. Kerlin BBQ has been regularly named one of the best barbecue spots in Austin and the United States.
On a road trip together through Central Texas Amelis had her first kolache. It immediately reminded her of the Venezuelan Cachitos (a semi sweet bread stuffed with meat) she had enjoyed as a child.
She decided to try her hand at making a semi sweet dough stuffed with Kerlin BBQ’s smoked meats and after few test batches the famous Kerlache was born.
Kerlin BBQ debuted their Kerlaches in 2015 and they were an immediate hit. Soon word began to get out, inspiring the likes of Bon Apetit, Texas Monthly, The Austin Chronicle, The Austin American Statesman and many others to write about them. Customers began lining up before they opened or preordering days in advance. People came from other states and even other countries to get a taste of what Eater called “one of Austin’s most iconic foods”.
Bon Apetit said “We sighed with delight.” And Thrillist proclaimed Kerlaches are “The best kolaches in Austin.”
With the increasing demand and limited space at Kerlin BBQ, Bill and Amelis realized that Kerlaches were becoming inaccessible to many people, often selling out in less than an hour. Wanting to make as many people happy as possible, they decided to open a standalone concept dedicated exclusively to their famous Kerlaches. In April 2022 the first Kerlaches location was opened in East Austin. The following May of 2023 Kerlaches added a second location in South Austin.