CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – When Neta Fitria moved to Virginia, she said it was a culture shock to see so much sourdough in the bakeries, instead of the soft, fluffy buns from Indonesia like she’s used to.

“It needs some adjustment for me to accept that, you know, this is the bread in America,” she told Cville Right Now.

Fitria moved to the Commonwealth in 2005 to be with her husband, who had immigrated from their home in Indonesia three years earlier. Fitria was never exposed to learning how to cook as a child, as her mother wouldn’t let her help in the kitchen.

“I think she was not patient enough, because when you learn to help for the first time, you’re kind of slow,” said Fitria.

But when Fitria and her husband started a family, she had to learn how to cook while being a stay-at-home mom.

“Google was my professor, basically,” she said.

After a long process of self-learning and calls home to her mother, she learned the recipes of her childhood that would eventually become the basis for Cloud Nine Bakery, a Southeast Asian inspired bakery that has Halal/Kosher offerings. The business name comes from her pastries and buns having a soft texture and the feeling of being on Cloud Nine.

“When I miss home, I want to make bread like home,” she said.

Fitria worked as a teaching assistant at Albemarle High School’s International and English Learners Program in the 2024-2025 school year working with refugee students. Due to budget cuts last year, they terminated Fitria’s position.

She attributes her former co-workers’ praise and encouragement after eating her food as inspiration to launch Cloud Nine.

“With this food, I think it’s better for you to focus on selling this.”

Cloud Nine Bakery is just one of the many stalls at the Farmer’s Market at IX Art Park every Saturday morning, but the reason why Fitria is there is because of her involvement in the Muslim community and the desire for her food to be accessible for those who use SNAP.

“A lot of people from, like, my community, they rely on SNAP…They can only purchase the cold food with SNAP. And I think not so many people know that because they don’t sell ube cheese tart at the groceries.”

When asked what her most popular item was, Fitria smiled as it depends on who was buying.

Sesame balls, crispy on the outside, with a soft and chewy inside, and filled with sweet mung bean or red bean paste, are popular with customers from Vietnam and Singapore as “little bites that carry big stories”.

Fitria recalled a customer’s praise, “Oh, my God, this is my childhood right here. You make me so excited waking up on Saturday morning.”

Ingredients like pandan and ube have non-Asian customers curious – and that notion is key to one owner in Charlottesville who said there needs to be more of to make the city diverse.

PK Ross has owned Splendora’s for 16 years and has been making gelato for longer than that. Ross is an American citizen of Filipino descent and said there is a “stay in your lane” mentality in Charlottesville.

“That’s a decided lack of imagination in finding value in every person’s experience,” she said. “The burdens of such bias definitely hold this place back from being somewhere special.”

Even though Ross and Fitria have lived in Charlottesville for near the same number of years, Ross said they would not have met if it weren’t for them being business owners.

“The insular nature of this place has never brought her to my circle of people,” she said. “Now I have a sounding board with similar lived experience.”

As Fitria’s business turns one year old this September, Cloud Nine Bakery has established a loyal customer base. As for what is next for Fitria, the sky is the limit, but family comes first.

“I have a lot of planning in mind,” she said. “But I have three boys at home and they’re still my number one priority.”

And when asked if they’ll be able to help in the kitchen, Fitria said “Although my husband helps the most, my boys help in various roles. It’s a family affair.”