We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Linda Sanchez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Linda below.
Linda , appreciate you joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
My mom was raising five kids on a minimum wage salary, at that moment that was about $8.00/hr. In order to make ends meet, my mom decided to use her culinary skills to start a side business. She joined the thousands of street vendors selling tamales on weekends. As one of the older children, I was tasked with helping make the tamales and accompanying her to sell the tamales every Sunday morning. We would leave the house before dawn as our targeted clientele, day laborers and landscapers (jardineros as we know them), would be staring their work days by 6am. There was no moment to complain or ask why I couldn’t stay home and watch cartoons while my parents made us pancakes like I had seen on TV. There was only discipline, grit, and confidence to sell our batch for the day. I realized from a young age through this experience that I had to create a path out of poverty for me and my family. I also knew that I was smart, disciplined, and determined and that my mom, without having to name the obvious, was preparing me to be a fighter. She taught me that anything is possible, to not let fear or lack of knowing stop me from pursing opportunities, and to some extent to be delusional. All of these lessons have led me to be a bold visionary and to take on opportunities head on, stopping to ask along the way but never allowing the “what ifs” or unknown stop me from pursuing opportunities. This is how I became a co-owner of Casa de Chocolates. When the prior owner, and dear femtor to me, casually asked if I was interested in purchasing the business from here, I casually replied, “sure, that’ll be exciting and fun”
Linda , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Linda, born and mostly raised by my Abuelita in Oaxaca, Mx. The fond memories I have of Oaxaca are drinking tejate (a cacao and corn based drink) and witnessing my Abuelita roast the Rosita de cacao and the cacao for the drink. Like many “dreamers,” my parents brought me to the U.S. when they had the opportunity so that I may have a chance at a better future; I went to high school in Orange County and in 2009 I was admitted to UC Berkeley. During my tenure there, I worked closely with student activist and school administrators to establish the 1st undocumented student center in the nation and with the support of my mentors, I founded a student housing for low income students, title Casa sin Fronteras. During my time at Berkeley I came under the mentorship of Arcadia Gallardo, an incredible chocolatier who now is the owner of Mission Chocolates based in Brazil. Arcelia brought me and my co-owner Jesus Chavez to support the process of opening Casa de Chocolates. She introduced us to Amelia Garcia, another incredible mentor in our life. They both saw commitment and determination in me and decided to engage me in the business early on, first doing customer service and then eventually learning the recipes.
In these early days I could not image that I was being prepared to assume this role. However, from the beginning, I felt a deep felt sense of connection to the business, its mission to reconnect chocolate back to its meso-american indigenous origins, and as someone with an entrepreneurial heart, I was committed. Casa de Chocolates from the beginning has been family owned and community driven. Through Casa de Chocolates we are able to share with all the magic, diversity, and complexities of flavors, color, and history via chocolate. It’s also been a place where as a young entrepreneur, I’ve had the opportunity to test out what it means to run a business that puts employees over profit and whether this approach is sustainable for a small business. So far so good, I can’t say we end with high profit margins, but what I will say is that we have committee staff who will brave through difficult moments and the challenges that come from being a small business.
We feel really proud of Casa de Chocolates and the legacy that Arcadia and Amelia passed on to us. I mean, where can you get a mole flavored bon bon or mezcal bon bon. Among our diverse product range are dark chocolate bars with unique flavors such as inca crunch (roasted quinoa), spicy mole, chile mango, cafe de la olla, alongside an extensive selection of bon-bons featuring flavors such as tequila, guava, Mayan espresso, brazilian sea salt, and chipotle caramel. We’re very proud of our products and the care we put into creating each piece. Taking on the tradition of our ancestors, we make everything hecho a Mano in small batches.
How’d you meet your business partner?
Jesus, whom we endearingly call Chuche, and I met at Cal weekend in 2009. In very Linda fashion, I approached him and demanded we be friends. Chuch is more timid, less outgoing, and likes to take calculated risks. He is my opposite. However, being my best friend meant jumping into things blindly and asking questions later. We still laugh about this, but I was sucked into a pyramid scheme while in college and selfishly I had to involve him too. Because he trusts me, he joined the pyramid scheme. Lessons learned for sure but still disappointed we couldn’t become millionaires by 30 and retired by now. In all seriousness, having a trusted partner and accomplice that keeps you grounded, that sees your dignity as a person, and asks the hard questions is so important. I felt safe taking the co-ownership of this business because I knew that Chuche and I could face the hard moments together. There is no joy in leading something on your own and having a trust ecosystems has so much value. I cannot do this without him, his mentorship, and realness. Chuche and I will celebrate our 15 years of friendship in July and from my time at Berkeley, his friendship is one of the best things that came of it.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The chocolate market is highly saturated by nestle, sees candies, and Mars and often when people think of fine chocolate they think of Swiss chocolate. So building a reputable business in a sea of other competitors had its challenges but what allowed us to stand out was the culture, authenticity, and craftsmanship of our chocolates. Currently we’re averaging about a 75% of sales to be from returning customers so the potential we have for expansion and a new customer base is incredible. Our customers are extremely loyal to us, not only for what we offer them, but the value of people over profit, high quality ingredients, and sourcing ingredients that are ethically sourced and/or provide livable wages to the stewards/artesanos. Our strength is not in how we market ourselves, I would say that’s one of the areas that we’ve neglected a bit due to our limited capacity. However, our story, our unique flavors, and the way we are able to transport our customers to Oaxaca, Brazil., Guatemala, etc via our flavors is power and that’s what keeps them hooked and loyal to us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://casadechocolates.com
- Instagram: @casadechocolates
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-de-chocolates-berkeley?osq=casa+de+chocolates