Interview conducted by local REALTOR® Keith Kurlander
it was actually my Mothers dream and she opened Yuca's my first semester at Brown and the driving idea behind it was to show Los Angeles what true Mexican food was like because back then there was only crunchy tacos and stuff were available.
What year was that?
It was April 1st 1976.
Did April Fools day have any significance?
Ah no when she told me they had opened on the 1st of April I said do you know what day that is? She said it's the 1st of the month and we just wanted the 1st as a starting time. And now our joke is, it's a joke and we're laughing all the way to the bank.
What was it like when you first started?
My Mother thought she could take orders, give out change, make the food, clean, cook everything by herself and she quickly learned that wasn't going to work so she got my Dad to come in and help after hours and my Brother. A lot of the times the first few months they'd just sit at a table and play cards until business picked up.
How big is the original Yuca's?
It's 8' x 10' feet without the awnings. It was originally an outdoor shoe shine stand and it was converted in 1970 by a local construction guy.
How many people work inside at one time?
The most we've ever had in there was 5 people, it's a small place so you quickly learn how to say please and thank you, pass me the salsa please, can I get a burger thank you.
Do you have air conditioning in there?
No, the employees don't want a fan and they don't want air conditioning because they say the hot and cold will make them sick so they'd rather tolerate the heat.
What's the difference between working at your old restaurant versus your new restaurant?
It's like apples and coconuts. It is completely different and when I opened it I was barely staying afloat, I mean I was just learning scheduling and systems because everything before was in my head and everybody came, we opened, we worked, we finished the day, we cleaned, we closed, we all went home. Now we have 3 different shifts, it was just a madhouse, it drove me bonkers.
What was it like when you expanded your workforce?
I had to learn how to delegate authority. It was either work 16 hour days, everyday myself or be smart and either train an employee to take some of the supervisory position and I did that for a few years and then when my sister retired she started helping me and that made a huge difference.
Everything about the business has been a learning experience and I think it's possible to do well you just have to be willing to fail, learn from that mistake and keep moving forward, fall and get up, fall and get up, the secret lies in getting up.
Mama, laughs, my Mom is amazing, within 30 seconds of meeting her you love her, you're calling her Mama, you're telling her your problems, you're asking her advice, you're giving her a hug and then on top of she's feeding you great food.
What's the most memorable experience working with a customer?
Oh that's easy, there was this woman that started showing up and she would always approach and say "Good morning, the most beautiful woman in the world, can you please give me a burrito?" And the first time she said that it was a little strange, but as she continued to come 2 or 3 times a week, and she always said that it became a joyful experience and then I started to feel like the most beautiful woman in the world and I said act like I was the most beautiful woman in the world and I thought what a great way to initiate change in people rather than say awww you should be happier or smile or something like that. She just made me happy and made me smile and made me want to share that and I thought that was fabulous.
I don't know one day we were talking about needing coffee and not wanting to drink coffee and somebody said I could just use a nice cold horchata and my brain went bing, bing, bing, oh, I love horchata I love espresso, you put crème in your coffee, this has cinnamon and sugar so it's perfect. We serve a cold horchata with a shot of espresso on top. Horchata is basically a milk made out of rice.
Do you have exciting plans for the future?
Always, we're looking for a third location and we have a lot of customers telling us where to go (laughs) downtown, Long Beach, the valley, Thousand Oaks, Beverly Hills, we're looking at downtown, we're looking at New York and in the next 2 or 3 years I would like to get to London. We have big plans.
Do you have any business role models?
I admire The Too Hot Tamales, they take a recipe, they tweak it to make it their own, they have fun with it, they done just about everything they've had restaurants, TV shows, food trucks. I would like to learn from them, be adventurous.
What do you like about the neighborhood?
Just about everything, I hike, I'm on the Board of the Friends of Griffith Park, I have 2 restaurants here, I was President of the Business Improvement District, I was on the Neighborhood Council, I'm on the Board of the Friends of the Library because I feel that selling your food in not enough I feel you need to work in the community, make where you are better, always, we have clean ups, we have a Xmas tree lighting, I love all the community events. and I like that we're still small business eclectic entities, I hope we can keep it this way for a long time to come.
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