North Valley BusinessSource Center Gives Arleta Churro Cafe The “Pick Me Up” Needed To Survive The Pandemic
Churro Hub Cafe is a churreria, coffee shop, cafe, and soon-to-be ice cream shop that opened its doors to the Arleta community in August 2019. Proud owner Alejandro had the desire to share his appreciation for Mexican culture and cuisine with the San Fernando Valley. Churro Hub Cafe offers locally roasted coffee, authentic Mexican snacks, drinks, and delicious churros.
Alejandro got his first taste at preparing food and experimenting with different flavors by assisting his wife with her family day care business. In addition to preparing meals for the children, Alejandro began to incorporate making cookies, donuts, and churros as part of the activities for the children. He also volunteered at church events that led him to experiment with coffee and frappes. It was then that he realized he truly enjoyed serving people and began to think about starting his own cafe.
With less than a year in business and the start of a pandemic, Churro Hub Cafe experienced a decline in sales which led Alejandro to reduce employee hours and fall behind on rent and other expenses. To keep his business running, he had to take over additional responsibilities to minimize costs. Worried about the health of his business, his wife, a current client of the North Valley BusinessSource Center, advised her husband to contact Alma Torres, a Certified Financial Business Coach with the North Valley BusinessSource Center for COVID-19 technical assistance. In the last four months, Alma has provided Alejandro with loan prep assistance in applying for numerous COVID relief funding with the CA Relief Grant, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the USHCC+UPS Grant, the PepsiCo Grant and was referred to LA Optimized for assistance with increasing its digital presence by marketing online, and expanding their sales.
“Not everyone has access to this kind of help. I recommend the North Valley BusinessSource Center, especially to those businesses that don’t have that extra hand and are juggling a lot at once. I definitely recommend it! They don’t just help with paperwork, but they also provide you with resources. They can guide you with issues you may have, and sometimes with things you didn’t even know you needed help with!”
The assistance and guidance provided by the North Valley BusinessSource Center has helped Churro Hub Cafe obtain the California Relief Grant. The funds allowed Alejandro to retain 2 FT employees and 2 PT employees. He is now able to give more hours to his employees and is currently looking to hire. Churro Hub Cafe was referred to the North Valley Worksource Center to receive further assistance on hiring and recruitment.
“With finances improving, we can now focus on serving a great product and providing great customer service.”
Located in Council District 6 at 9007 Woodman Ave, Unit A in Arleta, CA, Churro Hub offers authentic churros, premium coffee, tasty frappes, including their signature H-Oreo-Chata Frappe and homestyle braised tortas. Visit their website for more information https://churrohubcafe.com/ or order online on GrubHub.
