Xtiosu Kitchen in Boyle Heights COVID Relief
Donation protected
In September 2017, Nacho and Felipe (Zapotec Brothers) with small loans from 6 friends and family and all our savings, were able to open Xtiosu Kitchen. What seemed like a dream became a reality, this was our first attempt at having our own business and demonstrating to ourselves that indeed hard work and dedication could pay off.
In October 2017, we had our first moment of success when journalist Samanta Helou wrote our story in the LA Weekly. We felt a great sense of relief to know that we had a community where we belonged in Boyle Heights! That morning seeing people waiting for us to open our take-out window was INCREDIBLE! We worked 16 or 18 hour days often, just making sure we did everything RIGHT!
In 2018, we were in disbelief when chef David Chang host of Ugly Delicious came to our humble corner to check out our kitchen and talk to us about our food! We had NEVER been in front of cameras, and that experience was both, intimidating but also validating, we felt we were doing something RIGHT! We were proud to tell our parents that we were now on NETFLIX! #twoOaxacanGuys ! That's us!
In 2019 two incredible things happened, 1.) Patricia Escarcega graced us by writing about us in the inaugural review in her role as new LA Times food critic! and 2) we were named one of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles! Just WOW!! We continued mashing things up in our Kitchen and working tirelessly to make sure we delivered delicious food, while growing our business.
This entire time we have worked super hard, not taking days off and sometimes, just barely making ends meet. We have kept our menu prices low and have worked consistently to maintain high quality of our food-- while also making improvements and adding new items to our menu.
But then COVID-19 hit the world and BAM! All the savings that we had (we had been looking to open a full service restaurant) have been disappearing. We applied to al the loans and all the grants and everything that we could (we were not granted any of the Federal Loans- NONE). The two of us take care of just about everything in our business, (with the help of Nacho's life partner.) Some of our regular customers have seen, our work truck gave its last trip about four months ago, we had to get a used truck. That truck lost its axle the other day, so we spent a lot of money fixing cars, that we use on our trips for fresh produce and materials. So, despite all our efforts, things are not looking bright.
So today on GIVING TUESDAY we are hoping that you might give us a hand. This crowd funding will help us cover PART of our basic costs: rent, and utilities in the months of December and January, we are hoping that 2021 will bring new hope to many small businesses like us.
We are filled with gratitude for your continued business, we know this is a hard time for so many people! Until now, we thought we could weather the difficulties brought by the pandemic, but looking at our bills and the costs we are facing, we felt we should ask our community for support. This means a lot to us and we hope that you will continue to support small businesses in your neighborhood.
https://xtiosu.com/
Xtiosu!! = Thank You! = Gracias!!
Read our story in The Eastsider
In October 2017, we had our first moment of success when journalist Samanta Helou wrote our story in the LA Weekly. We felt a great sense of relief to know that we had a community where we belonged in Boyle Heights! That morning seeing people waiting for us to open our take-out window was INCREDIBLE! We worked 16 or 18 hour days often, just making sure we did everything RIGHT!
In 2018, we were in disbelief when chef David Chang host of Ugly Delicious came to our humble corner to check out our kitchen and talk to us about our food! We had NEVER been in front of cameras, and that experience was both, intimidating but also validating, we felt we were doing something RIGHT! We were proud to tell our parents that we were now on NETFLIX! #twoOaxacanGuys ! That's us!
In 2019 two incredible things happened, 1.) Patricia Escarcega graced us by writing about us in the inaugural review in her role as new LA Times food critic! and 2) we were named one of the 101 Best Restaurants in Los Angeles! Just WOW!! We continued mashing things up in our Kitchen and working tirelessly to make sure we delivered delicious food, while growing our business.
This entire time we have worked super hard, not taking days off and sometimes, just barely making ends meet. We have kept our menu prices low and have worked consistently to maintain high quality of our food-- while also making improvements and adding new items to our menu.
But then COVID-19 hit the world and BAM! All the savings that we had (we had been looking to open a full service restaurant) have been disappearing. We applied to al the loans and all the grants and everything that we could (we were not granted any of the Federal Loans- NONE). The two of us take care of just about everything in our business, (with the help of Nacho's life partner.) Some of our regular customers have seen, our work truck gave its last trip about four months ago, we had to get a used truck. That truck lost its axle the other day, so we spent a lot of money fixing cars, that we use on our trips for fresh produce and materials. So, despite all our efforts, things are not looking bright.
So today on GIVING TUESDAY we are hoping that you might give us a hand. This crowd funding will help us cover PART of our basic costs: rent, and utilities in the months of December and January, we are hoping that 2021 will bring new hope to many small businesses like us.
We are filled with gratitude for your continued business, we know this is a hard time for so many people! Until now, we thought we could weather the difficulties brought by the pandemic, but looking at our bills and the costs we are facing, we felt we should ask our community for support. This means a lot to us and we hope that you will continue to support small businesses in your neighborhood.
https://xtiosu.com/
Xtiosu!! = Thank You! = Gracias!!
Read our story in The Eastsider
Organizer
Xochitl Flores-Marcial
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
