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Dreams seldom become reality, but one of Bonnie Quinn's biggest dreams came true on Oct. 31.

Quinn opened Down Home Delights, a bakery and cafe at 10110 N. Oracle Road, after two years of selling cookies, biscotti and other baked goods at the Oro Valley Farmers' Market. Customers of the former tenant, the French Twist Café, will recognize the decor. Quinn said she liked the bright yellow and blue walls, the granite tables and the wooden chairs so much that she kept them.

"Are you the lady who made the great biscotti at the farmers market?" asked customer Petra Bray, 62, during a recent lunch rush. "I've been looking for you at the market and was so disappointed when I couldn't find you."

"She makes the best biscotti in the world," said Bray's husband, George, 63.

Quinn co-owns the business with her husband, Michael Quinn.

"I'm the baker and he has the business acumen," she said. Her husband, who co-owns 911 Collision Centers, helped launch her baking career with one request.

"My husband asked me to bake cookies for his customers 10 years ago," she said. "I made 25,000 cookies in one year."

In September, five days after they closed on the business, her 16-year-old son, P.J., was diagnosed with bone cancer. Quinn said they struggled with the prospect of not opening at all, but her son helped her decide to move forward.

"He's my biggest fan," said Quinn. "He encouraged me to open the bakery."

It's been difficult, but Quinn had to let go of certain aspects of the business.

"With my son's situation, I had to make sure I assembled a good team," she said. "I had to hire bakers and a manager."

Loyal customers have brought new ones to Quinn's cafe to enjoy the food.

"I like the pastry. It's convenient to where I live. It's a warm, friendly atmosphere to walk into," said Carolyn Williams, 63. Williams shared a cinnamon roll with one of Quinn's farmers market customers, Patricia Donegan, 71.

"I like the pastries and the salads," said Donegan.

The cafe offers pastries, breakfast and lunch. Everything is made from scratch. The "grab and go" refrigerated case is stocked with single-portion lunch and dessert items.

"My goal is to be fully entrenched in the business lunch market by summer," said Quinn. "I want the food here to be the best you've ever had anywhere."