We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bridget & Jose Mejia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bridget & Jose, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
When the pandemic hit, Jose was working a warehouse job and it was hit and miss when the warehouses would either shut down or call their employees to come into work. Schools were closed we had no one to watch our children. Jose and I took the leap of faith and decided he would stay home with our littles, since I had my nursing job there was no question with regard to job security. My job paid our rent and health insurance and we could afford to get by. My grandmother was ill and stayed with us for some time, during that time it was becoming hard to afford some of her medications. In March of 2020 I was working at Loma Linda. My coworkers had always loved my cooking and recommended I’d sell some jars of salsa, I thought ok well, let’s try it out. Before I knew it we were selling cases of salsa, the idea snowballed. It was so amazing to have so much support and knowing that everyone loved my salsa just filled my heart. The surgeons I worked with were the most supportive. One day after work I was approached and asked if I catered and I said no but I wouldn’t mind trying, it was that one event that made our world turn and opened a world of opportunities for us.
Bridget & Jose, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Bridget I am a full time LVN, I’ve worked as a nurse a little over nine years. It has been my passion to help and serve patients. I am the CEO of our catering business, I am also a Girl Scout leader I have dedicated the last 6 years to our troop. When I’m not cooking or working I enjoy spending time with my family. I have always had a passion for cooking and I pride myself in memorizing authentic recipes that have been shared from my grandmother and mother in law. I like to think that being a business owner/ cook just came naturally, my grandma was a restaurant owner and business owner we like to joke and say I inherited her ways.
Jose is the CFO he runs our business full time, he has for the past 3 years. When he’s not catering he’s running all the errands for our business. This is a key factor to our business, if you have a small business then you know the laundry list never ends. We have been married for 3 years and together 16 years. Jose is devoted to our children and spends most of his time with them.
The third and most important person that makes our business operable is our fifteen year old daughter, Monica. At such a young age she demonstrates leadership and is able to run an event without my help. Monica is in 9th grade she enjoys playing softball, volleyball and recently made the local travel volleyball team. Although cooking is not her favorite she takes pride in ensuring every dish is up to par. Monica is our master chopper, she also is my right hand when it comes to creating detail to our weddings. A fun fact is that Monica is our content creator, she takes almost all of our videos and photos for our social media pages.
We currently offer mobile taco catering, our specialty is birria de res, quesa-birria tacos and of course the regular meats; chicken asada and al pastor. We also offer mariscos and can pretty much make anything our client request.
We also specialize in catering for large events such as corporate luncheons, Wedding’s and Quinceañeras. Our decor definitely sets us apart from other catering business’. The attention to detail we share with our clients is authentic.
I am most proud of creating a successful business and creating an income for my husband. Not only for my husband but also an example for my children to understand hard work and perseverance are attainable no matter the circumstance. I want our potential clients to know that every client matters and we pride ourselves in every plate/dish served. Our entire family pours our love and dedication into every single event.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Recently our family suffered a tragic event, about five months ago Jose and I became foster parents to our 3 nephews and niece. Managing our catering business at peak season dealing with social workers, lawyers, therapist and working a full time job. All while keeping a smile on our face for our clients and not knowing what was happening while we were juggling it all. For me that was the moment I realized how resilient our family was. There is nothing we cannot achieve together. In my eyes we are the dream team, I love us!
We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.
Our side hustle started with salsas then transitioned to pop-ups we had customers come from near and far to try our food, it was heart warming! We then transitioned to full on catering. Before we knew it we were fully booked every weekend. Now our clients book at least 3-6 months in advance.
A key milestone for us was purchasing our first home. A first generation Latino family beating the odds. No handouts, all hard work and dedication.
I vividly remember booking our first wedding I was over the moon, heck I still get over the moon for every wedding booked. I would say another milestone we obtained was adding florals to our set ups. This allowed me to add a personal yet creative touch for our couples.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://salsalasabrosa.squarespace.com/?fbclid=PAAaYjqggwrP_bGzg50CXUvIJyhSKsNH_65EmD8GLp1qIA0gyrpmzN3Sbh86Q_aem_AWzYY6FYXvwupSi4X7sUIvE8VGzMBtp0xhQLnCQJDKq_zILREVtNXNplghMQYRCJbAc
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/_salsalasabrosa_?igshid=MTNiYzNiMzkwZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/salsalasabrosaa?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Image Credits
Sustudiophotography