SAN DIEGO — Inside a family-run tortilleria in the South Bay, Natalie Rodriguez and Lesly Mondoza cooked up an idea for a sweet new business that also celebrates their Hispanic heritage.
“As soon as we met each other, we clicked and we knew we wanted to do like a business together,” Natalie said. They met in high school and quickly became best friends. “As soon as we met each other, we clicked and we knew we wanted to do like a business together,” she added.
The Chula Vista natives started selling their Mexican sweet bread, called conchas, during Covid, working 16 hour days.
“We could have easily given up, but we didn't,” Natalie said. “We're still here and yeah, like it's really nice to see how much we've grown.”
They started in the back of a tortilleria that Lesly’s family has owned for decades. She worked there as a child. “When I grew up, I was like, oh I want to stay in the industry, but do a little bit something different,” Lesly said.
Keeping with their Hispanic heritage, the women chose to make a traditional treat. “It's really important for us, since we're both Mexican, we both grew up eating conchas all of our childhood,” Natalie said.
But they've added a modern twist. “They're more fancy concha than a traditional,” Natalie said.
Their flavors include Oreo, Coffee, Chocolate Abuelita, Mazapan, and even Fruity Pebbles.
“It’s one of our crazy flavors,” Lesly added with a smile. Too crazy? These entrepreneurs are hoping traditionalists will give them a try.
“Hopefully they try these and they're like, oh, that's awesome that these girls are young and they're bringing something new to the industry,” Natalie said.
So far, so good. In fact, they're in the process of opening their own store called Tus Chefs Favoritas in the Shops at San Miguel Ranch in Chula Vista.
“This is our place now, finally!,” Natalie said with pride.
And while the insides of their conchas may be soft, it's hard starting a business. Fortunately, when you're working with your best friend, you can always find a reason to smile.
“We go to work and instead of being like, oh we're going to work, it's really fun to work together,” Natalie said. “And it's really fun because we love what we do. So we have fun working.”
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