Save Zapotec Cafe

Our Gofundme goal is to help keep the cafe doors open, because we want to keep providing a space where we can keep hosting fundraisers, open mics and more activities that involve the community.

Serving the Boyle Heights community since April 1st , 2014, our mission has always been comida, cafe and community. This location was opened by me Efrain and a group of friends from Vees Cafe, the original idea was built between me and Ezequiel Fabian. Ezequiel was one of the greatest people one can ever meet in this life, unfortunately he was in a car accident in 2016 and he did not make it. That is one of the reasons why keeping the cafe open is very personal to me.
The cafe started under a different name in 2014 and when I had the choice to rename the cafe, my friend Pedro suggested to name it "Zapotec Cafe" as an homage to the Zapotec people. I speak Zapotec fluently and try to share the culture to those who are open to it. Ezequiel and I are both DACA recipients and both originally from Oaxaca Mexico, two crazy souls trying to make the American dream. Besides being a small business owner I'm also a painter and Ezequiel was a photographer so we were always going to art events. That is why in the cafe you will always see many types of art and skill levels.
Many cafe supporters and I have been fighting to keep our doors open since Summer 2017 and through this journey we have met many more artists from the community so naturally we started doing more open mics, art crawls, Zapotec language classes and many more activities for the public. 
At the cafe we have always served healthier choice foods like wraps and salads because we knew that in this corner of Soto and Whittier there were many fast food choices already.Unfortunately, since the sixth street bridge closed it has been tough on sales and foot traffic.
Sometimes it takes alot of guts to ask for help especially  if you know me personally and how stubborn I can be.

The money will helps us with current bills, help cover rent, bring back our full menu, bring back our juice menu and to be able to hire local staff back again. Right now its just me doing everything in the cafe from making lattes to  cooking, and posting on social media.  Even though we are in a tough situation, we will keep using our space to help others by holding local art exhibits, fundraisers, open mics and many more events.
My goal is for everyone who has donated to our Gofundme to receive a piece of the art I make. 
We thank everyone online, local customers and those who have traveled from as far as San Diego and Arizona to support the cafe.