Throughout her time managing Shandeez Grill for her parents, Ellie Meschi said she always dreamed of opening her own bakery. “[Baking] was my passion. This job, it has been my dream since I was little. I love baking, but I never had a chance to bake, even at home,” Meschi said. A little more than a year ago, the opportunity arose for Meschi to open her own bakery in the space directly next to her family’s restaurant, which she co-owns. After remodeling the space and knocking out a wall to connect the bakery to the restaurant, Meschi opened Elisa Pastry in July 2018. The bakery, its own separate business, is now part of the Meschi family’s history in Austin, dating back to 2001. Ellie’s parents opened their first restaurant in Lakeline in 2001 and it remained open for nearly a decade. The family shuttered that restaurant in 2010 to focus their efforts on Shandeez Grill, which first began serving customers in 2005. Shandeez Grill is one of just a few Austin-wide restaurants serving Persian cuisine. The restaurant’s menu, which was greatly expanded a handful of years ago by Meschi, features classic Iranian dishes such as khoresht ghormeh sabzi, a popular stew. Diners can order family plates packed with all of the restaurant’s offerings, including lamb, chicken and steak kabobs, basmati rice and grilled tomatoes. The six-page menu also includes Mediterranean items, such as baba ghanoush, which Shandeez Grill accentuates with smoked eggplant. Meschi said Elisa Pastry is the only Persian bakery in Austin, featuring Iranian recipes for baked treats such as baklava, cakes,  Napoleons and cream puffs. Customers can additionally order custom cakes from Elisa Pastry. “Most Persian sweets are made with whipped cream, not butter cream or cream cheese. But [they are] not too sweet,” Meschi said. The bakery also offers free Wi-Fi and serves a full range of cafe items, such as lattes, espressos, Americanos and more. Meschi said one of the advantages of opening her bakery next to her family’s restaurant is providing diners with an immediate, wide array of desert options. “Most of our Shandeez customers, after they eat, they’ll come and grab their dessert here,” Meschi said. Shandeez Grill 8863 Anderson Mill Road, Ste. 109, Austin 512-258-6464 | www.shandeez.com Hours:  Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., closed Sun. Elisa Pastry 8863 Anderson Mill Road, Ste. 108, Austin 512-992-0075 | www.elisapastry.com Hours:  Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m.-8:30 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m., closed Sun.