Move over, Starbucks! You've Got Some Cultural Java Competition
BOYLE HEIGHTS (CBSLA.com) — Specialty coffeehouses are brewing up business in Los Angeles' Latino neighborhoods.
Chuy Tovar is the co-owner of Primero Taso in Boyle Heights. "Coffee's an everyday part of life in the Latino culture," he said.
His shop carries coffees from all over South America. His customers love the variety. "Latino people love the blends, the warm. You know, it's just personal," Connie Rivera said.
Many customers like Jesse Soriano love the taste of home. He said the sandwich from Primero Taso he was eating reminded him of his mother. "This luncheon -- the bread is from Guadalajara. My mom is from there."
In nearby Cypress Park, customers flock to Antigua Coffee House. Yancey Quinones is the owner. "To me, it's lot more of the pride. Just being, showing roots of where we're from," he said.
"The difference between me and someone else is the fact that we own coffee farms in Guatemala," Quinones said. He opened his shop in his childhood neighborhood. "The little shop that when I was a kid, it was an ice cream shop. It's coffee instead of ice cream now," he said proudly.
The coffee shop owners said they do not consider Starbucks and the other big names competition. Instead, they said the popular chains have cultivated an interest in coffee.
"We're offering something that's totally unique and totally different from what they're doing," Tovar said.
"You've got to be unique, different and stand on your own," Quinones said.