Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Martinez.
Hi Diana, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
The idea of opening up a coffee shop came about when my dad and I used to go on runs. We were walking one of those days and I was venting to him about how I wasn’t happy at the job I was in at the time and even though it was a good-paying job, I just didn’t see myself spending the rest of my life in the position I was in and so I said: “I want to own a coffee shop”. One of my first jobs was at a bakery/coffee shop and I loved being on bar and pulling shots and quite honestly, I’ve always loved interacting and getting to meet people, naturally I am a people person and enjoy the hospitality industry. After the convo with my dad, I told myself I had to come up with a plan if I wanted to move forward with the idea of one day opening up a shop, I had to come up with a game plan and that’s what I did. I told myself that before I made a move on bringing this idea to life, I wanted to know everything there was to know about coffee, from the roots of coffee all the way to the art of roasting coffee. I went down this rabbit hole and started reading books and looking for cupping classes and roasting classes. I ended up applying to a job for Tectonic Coffee and got into their production part-time while still working my full time until eventually I quit my full time and got into Demitasse, a specialty coffee shop, the rest is history,
The Pop-Up idea came on a hiking trip with some friends and my partner. I said well, I have all the equipment to make pour overs why not set up a table and just brew pour overs for the community. We got a generator and decided we were gonna set up the following weekend, said and done, we loaded up our cars, went to introduce ourselves to the vendors that were already there and pitched them our idea. They were cool with it and so we set up a Pour Over table and started yelling, “I Tenemos Cafecito !”. It took a little while to get some customers, I even had this whole speech about why we use the pour over method in English and Spanish, lol. A couple of months went by and we started getting more and more customers and then a customer, now a friend, came up to us and asked us to cater a funeral. We had never done catering but I was like “YES” and that’s where our catering began. Shortly after, we were contacted by The Plant Chica and asked to vend at her Grand Opening and of course I said yes, and that’s where our Pop-Up game started and we started traveling all over LA. Any event we would get contacted for, we were there trying to get our name out there. Both my partner and I were still working full-time jobs, setting up weekend mornings on the street and then running to pop-ups. At this time, we had upgraded to our Espresso Bar and IT HIT. We hustled it out until one day, I decided to quit my job and was given the opportunity to set up at The Plant Chica daily. It was going good until it wasn’t, the city came down on us and we had to shut down service, as sad as I was if it wasn’t for that experience, I would have never moved forward with becoming a legit business and deciding to start investing into a Brick and Mortar. A few months later, we were blessed with the opportunity to open up shop in South Central.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Oh no! This Journey has been a roller coaster full of amazing highs and scary lows, which I feel is the entrepreneurial lifestyle. As the daughter of two Salvadorian immigrants that have worked for someone else their whole lives, we weren’t taught business, how to manage a business, or how to run a business so I’m literally learning as I go. Fortunately, I was able to enter an entrepreneur Co-Hort with LEEAF that helps woman of color that are starting or have a small business and that has made that struggle a little less. Learning how to manage stress and how to balance business and life has been a struggle for me. I felt like I was reaching the point of Burn Out and decided to reach out to a customer, now friend, and asked if she would be willing to lead a 30min mediation and yoga session for the community and she kindly said yes so every Wednesday we meet up at the shop and do mediation and yoga from 6:30am-7:00am. Since then, I’ve taken the time to breathe and remind myself about my ” Why” and about the love I have for coffee.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Café Calle?
We are a specialty coffee providing affordable specialty coffee to the underserved community. We work directly with producers and importers from El Salvador & Guatemala. We support and highlight local roasters and provide other small businesses with a space to be able to grow and showcase their business or products. My team and I take pride in pushing out quality coffee and ingredients. We make our own syrups, we make sure our coffee is always tasting its best, and most importantly we make sure we work with individuals that align with our values and who also value and care for sustainability back in origin and here in the states. Café Calle started from humble beginnings and I am more than proud and grateful of how far my team and I have come #PourCoffeeNotHate
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory has got to be celebrating birthdays at Elysian Park. My parents used to load up an old blue Toyota van that we had for many years with piñatas, tables, food and goodies. All of our friends and family would get together at the park and just have a blast climbing on trees or running around the playground. I still go for hikes at Elysian and every time I pass the tree we would post up at it always takes me back to those days.
Pricing:
- Drip Coffee $2-$3
- Espresso Drinks $3-$5.75
- Acai or Pitaya Bowls $8
- Specialty Teas $4-$7
- Pour Overs $4
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: cafecalle.com
- Instagram: @cafecalle
Image Credits
Diana Martinez
