 Welcome to Olá y Aloha, we're the voice for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii, where we work hard to be a resource for the Latino business community. We offer bi-monthly Buenos Dias Breakfast Networking events, and bi-weekly Olá y Aloha podcast brought to you by Think Tech, Hawaii. Olá, my name is Barbara DeLuca, president and co-founder of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii. Hello, and I am Mari Sol. I'm the vice president and co-founder of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce here in Hawaii. And we are so excited to have you guys here with us today. Today's episode is about bringing authentic flavors of Latin America to Hawaii, and our special guests are Alejandro Villarino and Megan Chun. We are the new owners of Mercado de la Raza. If you've ever been there, it is the Mercado located at 1315 Baratania Avenue. We're so excited to talk to them about what they're doing, their venture and how they got here. So without further ado, we want to thank you so much and welcome you to the show. Welcome to the show, Alex and Megan. Yes, today is a lesson on true entrepreneurship. We have the whole family with us, Alex, Megan, and Sebastian. So I've been following you guys on Instagram for a while, or the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hawaii has been following you. And congratulations on your new wedding, the baby, and you know, I just want to ask you who you are and what brought you to Hawaii. Thank you very much, Barbara. It's a pleasure to be with you today. And yeah, we're bringing authentic flavors and we're also bringing an authentic view into what this journey of entrepreneurship is, which means being at the store. Well, we have to multitask and be in this lovely conversation while caring for a little one and getting married as you mentioned. And all of the things that, you know, I think small business owners have to deal with the combination of personal life and professional life and trying to keep the lights on for all of our customers. Okay, can you tell us a little bit about, tell us about your business, like what is it exactly and what inspired you to become a small business owner. Our journey, I think started actually many years ago when I first met Alex, and he had a dream to have a Mexican market and, you know, life living in New York, we used to live in New York. And he put us on the path to that dream until we moved to Hawaii. So I'm from here and Alex, it's from Mexico. And upon, you know, moving here we found the color that I saw and we met Martha. And, you know, she was ready after 28 years of running the store she was ready to retire and after coming and speaking with her. She came to us. And that's how we met Ricardo de la Raza and took over and are here as its new stewards, I'll say it's new owners and stewards. That's exciting it's so you know it's great to pass the torch and have a new generation come on and do things a little bit differently and yeah what have you learned in the last six months running this business. Alex, would you like that? I mean, I think one of the biggest lessons is you have to constantly change hats. Sometimes I think that identities are hats and, and sometimes you have to be acting as someone talking to customers and put that face of like okay I'm all about customer service. Other times you have to be thinking about okay how do I solve the logistics issue. We all know that in Hawaii logistics I think is a big part of having a business. So ensuring that the product is arriving ensuring that we have good relationships with vendors. All of that is what we need to take into consideration and, and you're constantly changing hat like the other hat is caretaker for a baby and that's what you'd need to model. Yeah, I think it's really paid to be a generalist as an entrepreneur rather than a specialist. You don't have to be, you know, an expert and it doesn't pay to be an expert in one thing necessarily in what we're doing we kind of have to be good at many different things and be open be flexible and really click on your feet. As you know as entrepreneurs, things can change like that and you just gotta be on your problem solving game all the time. Had you guys absolutely had you guys own your own business prior to El Mercado de la Raza or is this like your, your first crack at it. This is, this is our first business. Yeah, I think we've, you know, each of us has had our little projects that we've tried to pick off when we were, you know, younger and much more ambitious. But this is the first project that is ours that we own that really affects a larger community. And so, you know, it also brings with it a lot of responsibility. Right. And I've been in your store many times I love it and I get so excited because especially being here in Hawaii we're so isolated from like the mainland right where there's so many Latinos and there's so many, you know, different kinds of Latinos right in, in a in a smaller area here it's like we have this is the one market that we have really right. So do you ever feel and I get excited when I'm in there and I just, you know I get nostalgic. It's really fun. But do you feel because there are so many Latin American countries and you're obviously all inclusive right. How do you determine what you bring in what you don't what can, you know, how do you determine that because I feel like that's a pretty huge feat to to endure. You know, we do our best to bring as much as we can. I, I would say a lot of what we do is actually give the voice to customers so we, we have a long list of suggestions because obviously, sorry, of requests exactly. Because, you know, everyone who comes into the store there's always like, Oh, do you think you can bring us this. I think we, I think we do our best to try to accommodate and bring it. At the same time, the reality of our business is this is a market right so there needs to be a market and a, and a demand for the product. And we actually at some point had an idea of like, okay, well what if we start a board, and we can put post states or like suggestions and request from people and, and notice can plus one or like add like yes please bring this one please bring this other one that's a tentative that we have in order to bring new product because some, sometimes people are asking us to bring things that some cases only one person wants it and it's hard right or, or sometimes they're asking for a product that's from not only from a specific country but from a specific region of a country. And, and we are like yeah we would love to bring it but we are not sure that 40 people would like to buy that product right like maybe it's only one or two. So, we, we try to accommodate as best as we can, we, we always encourage and ask our customers to share with us what product they'd like to see. And then it's this game of trying to find it. If there's a market if there's more people asking about it, then we'll definitely have it. And to be honest, sometimes it's just a little bit of a trial and error like in some cases we bring the product and sometimes it sells great and sometimes it doesn't and then we know that there's market for it anymore and we won't be bringing it again. Right. Yeah, that's smart to do a to do a survey right. Last time I was in your store, Megan showed me around and you show me some products from Peru and Venezuela so like you said, how did those products turn out or. I think the proven proven, well, I should back up and say there's there's a growing interest, I think improving food especially now, you know the the world's 50 best list just came out and I think it was two weeks ago and the top restaurant in the world is in Peru. I think like 20% of all of that list of the world's top 50 is in Latin America. So there's, you know, it's, I think that's an interesting point is that yes we do have a lot of Latinos who come in here and people who are interested. You know they're curious, which is another, you know, reason why we wanted to take over it because we want to have that platform to share and to educate about culture and food through food. I have a question for you guys. What, what would you like the Mercado to be known for. I'll give this one to Alex. Oh, well, I think we would like to be known by bringing the community together I think we really care about as my experiences and immigrant in this country and in this island specifically I longed for a place where I could feel that I could speak my language where I could find the things from my home. And so providing that for the community is very important. I think we also have a commitment to service to that community. We really care about providing a platform for other businesses. We're really care about like creating the conditions for other businesses to thrive and for other entrepreneurs to to start their own ventures, especially when it comes to food. And so we just want to provide also a place for people to learn about Hispanic and Latino products, communities, culture. We actually have a lot of customers who don't know or not very familiar with the countries or with the products or the foods or the culture and and they come here and they ask questions and and and they they are interested in understanding Oh, what is that chili or like, how do you use that though or like how do you cook that meat and and that's something that's close to our hearts and and and something that we really care about. It's interesting that you said that about the meats I saw that you guys are starting to carry some marinated different kinds of meats. You know, because we don't have anything like that out here can you tell us about that. There are so many people who visit Hawaii or they live in Hawaii and they're looking to spend some time with family with the food that they know. People like to do that around, you know, and I saw that they want to grow together. And so they were asking for, you know, some marinated meats and there's no company city on the island yet. And so what we're doing is our best to accommodate so we have, you know, we always have to do so and we're bringing in some marinated meats and specialty items that we hope will cater to to our customers and and give them that what they need to have that experience with family and the little taste of home. It's a small selection. Yeah, it's a small selection. It is. It's a start and, you know, we're on island obviously and what do what do we love to do is go to the beach and grill you know so it's there's going to be a there's definitely a demand and a niche for that that's awesome. I'm so excited actually that you guys are here and I just came back from the mainland. And you're absolutely right with the, the marinades and the goodness that that's what we do and it's, you can we do it a marinated yes but it's so nice if you can go somewhere already have it prepared. Exactly. And that's what we're looking for so is that maybe something you guys are planning in the future a opening a company said yeah, because that would be amazing. Maybe certainly, I would say nothing is out of the plan. I think it will take us a little, a little while to to craft and to to crack the code on on how to do that because, as we were mentioning that's not necessarily a background but yeah we will definitely explore that area. And you guys were talking about one of the things that I love that you do is, you know, it's not just your store you really want to be a part of the community and integrate with the community, and give people a space right to maybe promote their products. You guys have a venture, right, an initiative. Can you talk a little bit about that I think it's called my chances Latinos. That's correct. Yeah. So my chances Latinos was an idea that started out of actually reading a little bit about the Latino business community. And I remember that when we were doing the research actually to acquire the business. We learned that a lot of what happens with Latinos is we are highly entrepreneurial so there is actually. I don't remember the specific numbers but Latinas are some of the ones with the highest rate of entrepreneurship. But then, oftentimes what happens is there is no capital. And they're usually like small businesses that are just thought through the lens of like a little business here or like usually food related. And it's just focused on an amazing product but it doesn't get to scale to to the next level. So, while we were doing that research, and while we were also thinking about the market itself. Part of what we want is to expand the definition of what Latino is traditionally I think we tend to think of products that are made in Latin America and brought here. And what we also wanted to open was the aperture to think of like things that are made by Latino hands, even if they can be made in the island. So that's where the idea started. And so what what we ended up coming with this initiative of my chances Latinos my chances is the way it connects to my personal story but my mom used to go to the equivalent of farmers markets in Mexico. And my chances was the name, people would talk to each other like they, the vendor is called a market and they address the customer as much and and you address them in the same way. So my mom will have her, my chances for the Platanos and my chances for the avocados and like, everyone would be different right because it was specialized stall. It's sort of like giving it that name just because it resonated with me personally and and we're building this network of my chances that hopefully get to grow. What we do is we invite them to the store once a month. We invite them to the store we give them some space here, and we get to talk about their product so we give them some promotion, like some platform promotion like we post on our social media about them. And we get them some some space here in the store so they can talk about their product, they can talk about their business and their story, and they get to sell their product here that day. And also, in many cases, the, and subsequent weeks or by demand on demand, like, based on on how much need there is for that product so we've done it a few times we started, I believe, in March. That was the first one. Maybe you want to share with us who was that Megan. Yeah, our we discovered our first marchante Andrea with Aloha Alpajores. And she brought in her homemade alpajores, and from there, you know, we've been very lucky and connecting with makers in the community. Latinos who have, you know, that entrepreneurial spirit who are trying to make the things that they love and bring a little bit of home here to Hawaii so from there, we've had raised and raised tortillas. We had a panaderia and luckily so many people were asking for conscious everybody wants to spend those days, and we met through the community here that's amazing couple from what happens who makes the conscious. And so we brought them back on Saturdays we most recently had a Ruby in corner. So, you know, we're really trying to pull in marchantes not only from one country but really from all over Latin America from Brazil from we're looking for people from Brazil from Argentina from Venezuela from Columbia from all over to be a part of it. That's such a great idea and not only food but just products you know handmade products by artisans and you know it's going to I could see it growing. Just, you know, your vision I could see your vision I love it how can other businesses participate in the marchantes latinos. That's a great question. The way to the way we've been working so far is, they just need to get get here and talk to us. We will usually ask for a sample of the product because obviously we want to advertise and provide a platform for products and people that we know their story so we have a little conversation with people to care about their story. We tried our product and then we we set the schedule because because we have a few already lined up. And then we we set it up so if anyone who's listening to this is interested they have a product idea it's already tested, and they already they are started, they are starting their journey of entrepreneurship. Just come by and introduce yourself talk to us and, as I said, all we want is help so we will be happy to help. Welcome you or provide a space in the store or or give you ideas on on how to have to scale your product and how to bring it to market. And how often do you host the pop ups, the pop ups are every month, once a month. They're not on a set schedule right now we kind of work with each with each marchante to understand what works best for them and also for us. Because as you know, we are always launching something new. So besides the marchante to the phoenix we have new products and interesting things happening in store, but definitely come in and person and you can bring a sample. We appreciate that. Tell us your story. You know we want to understand who you are what why is it much like you know you're asking us why are we doing this want to know why are you doing this what what brought you here to embark on this journey, because you're literally in the middle of nowhere. And that's something special. It does and we've discussed this on on previous podcast but you know we have 11% of the population Latinos 160,000 as of last year this year were predicted to be over 180,000 so growing. And, like you said we are entrepreneurs so we have over 7500 Latino business owners that employ, you know, a staff and we contribute 500 million to $1 billion to this economy in Hawaii. So we definitely have a great niche that you know it's only going to continue to grow it's so exciting. Yeah, well somebody wants to participate what does the schedule look like. If they're going to come into the store and do the pop. We do it once a weekend. Sorry once a month. We have. We're having a special event in July about the lagueta that is like a specific festival in in Oaxaca in Mexico. So that's going to be, I believe, two weeks from today. And then we'll have someone already lined up for July. So we'll be looking for the one who will be interested in in August. And as we mentioned August and September yeah, before we head into the really busy season, the busy season right yes we have a lot going on this year to with the Hispanic Chamber. Our creating a space for other Latino businesses and to share their stories and products with the community in Oahu so reach out to them follow them on Instagram they're very active on Instagram. And did you want to leave us with any, any ending comments. Thank you for the opportunity Barbara I think the work that you guys are doing is incredible and really appreciate the opportunity to talk about us to talk about our family our business. I think it's an amazing platform and I love the way we're all coming together to support this growing community as you mentioned it. We need more spaces to talk about these business ideas to share with each other what's happening and to give each other feedback on like how to do it how to improve it, how to contribute to the economy and to the success of all of our businesses together. Exactly, you know we're planning a mastermind for next year so you know like mine so we can get together and continue to grow our community so a lot of exciting things happening in the end of this year and beginning of next year. It is exciting because I love to meet entrepreneurs in our Latino community that have the same mentality that we want to connect each other we want to grow one another, we want to support one another so it's really exciting that you're not just a regular stakeholder where I can go and get my, you know, free homeless and my tortillas, you're voting other businesses and that is how we will continue to grow here so we love it we love having you and as you grow you're always welcome back. Any new ventures anything you want to just share. This is a space for you. So we're really happy you're here with us. Thank you. And before we wrap up, I just want to announce some of our upcoming events. We have a Buenos Diaz breakfast networking coming this Tuesday, August 8 that Pakeria and Cheryl. That's at 830 to 10am. I'm going to feature a guest Ricky Negas and Joanie Lum co-founders of the Hawaiian Islands Professional Panel of Experts. So they'll be presenting wealth builders education program. And on our next show of Ola Ieloha on July 19, we will be bringing in RIP Fitness so they're the Latino owners of the gym and Waipahu and they're doing a lot of great things with the community as well they do the sipping shops and, you know, have vendors there such as the community. I love what we're doing in our community so thank you guys for being with us today. This is Ola Ieloha on Think Tech. We've been talking with Alex Villarino and Megan Chun, the new owners of Mercado de la Raza speaking about Latinos. Thank you both for joining us today. Oh, there he is. Oh my gosh. Thank you for joining us. Thank you to our viewers and we'll be back in two weeks. You're welcome. Please tune in to our your friends. I'm Barbara DeLuca. Ola, adios Ieloha. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. If you like what we do, please click the like and subscribe button on YouTube. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our website, thinktechawaii.com. Mahalo.