Abby Hitchcock : Taqueria Guaima
As of March 31, Taqueria Guaima will no longer be in business at La Sonorense Bakery. Although our team hoped to keep the restaurant fully functioning up until we had a finalized plan, Vanessa felt that it was to her financial and personal detriment to continue operating the business under the demanding financial and increasingly space-competitive conditions that La Sonorense Bakery subjected her to. This decision was made in light of Vanessa’s recent health issues and the La Sonorense Bakery owner’s decision to introduce a third business, which would share kitchen and counter space with Vanessa, into the location.
Although our team is saddened by the closure of Taqueria Guaima, we believe that this presents a great opportunity to harness Vanessa’s excess focus and channel this into creating a new business plan that will bring her success. Already, Vanessa is visibly excited by ideas that she had previously felt would be too difficult to execute. We will continue with our twofold plan of action by beginning Vanessa’s basic business education lessons and moving forward with the development of a business plan for a food truck. We believe that a food truck is the most viable business option available to Vanessa due to the currently limited market for suitable stationary locations. In addition, a food truck will allow Vanessa to fulfill her goal of providing her customers with a catering service, as the truck will give her the necessary mobility to make this possible.
With some foresight into the challenge of financing that Vanessa will likely encounter (the initial investment for a food truck is large) after we have developed a business plan, we have encouraged Vanessa to fill out paperwork for the Opportunity Fund, a program that provides micro-loans to people seeking to start a business. We hope that Vanessa will be granted a loan that will cover costs of a food truck, permits, and some new branding materials.
In the meantime, our team is focusing on finding viable used food trucks for sale, working with Vanessa to realize her vision for this fresh start, and providing Vanessa with clear knowledge of how to run her new business.