October 11, 2024 – The proof is in the pupusas.
And the Nashville-style fried chicken. And the whipped-cream-stuffed pan dulce. And the beer-battered fish ’n’ chips, melty queso birria, grilled nopales skewers and plantain tostones, too.
What they prove is that supporting small business yields delicious results, including a stronger community and regional economy.
Those items are also all part of a 45th anniversary celebration of El Pájaro Community Development Corporation called Tacos & Tapas, which happens 6-9pm Thursday, Oct. 17, at the El Pájaro CDC Kitchen Incubator in Watsonville—conveniently located in the center of the tri-county Monterey-San Benito-Santa Cruz area it serves.
Ely’s Pupusas (with the Salvadoreño pupusas and accompanying curtido), Hot Birds (handing the chicken), Mi Pan y Mi Leche (doing the pan dulce), Scrumptious Fish ’n’ Chips (you guessed it), Yoli’s Adobo (quesabirria), Nopalito Produce, Inc. (skewers) and Rob Pastelillo Puerto Rican cuisine (tostones, empanadas and more) will all serve those dishes at the event.
They also all work out of El Pájaro’s shared commercial kitchen and happen to rank among the very best at what they do in the region—in other words, Found Treasures, every one of them.
And that success might’ve never materialized if it weren’t for Pajaro CDC, which has gotten so proficient at providing the training, permit coaching, business consulting and kitchen space that upstart entrepreneurs need it was named Assembly District 29’s Nonprofit of the Year in 2023.
Cesario Ruiz understands the multiplier power of the CDC from several directions. He first came after extended time running New Leaf Community Markets food departments, seeking resources to help pilot his own dream project.
That was summer 2013, when the CDC’s kitchen was about to debut. As this publishes, his My Mom’s Mole food truck/private catering operation is thriving—and will serve Baja-style shrimp tacos, with pico de gallo, chipotle aioli and (sí) a side of mole sauce at the anniversary celebration.
“I always wanted to explore the possibility of launching my own business,” he says. “The universe had something additional in mind: I started running the kitchen and could work on my food too.”
He notes the support available goes beyond the space to create.
“Without the CDC, one of the big elements the community would be missing is not only the number of resources available free of charge, like consulting, classes and access to an approved clean facility, with rents going through the roof,” he says, “but also the connections and benefits of being around other producers starting from scratch.”
Suddenly a cost-prohibitive leap of faith is an educated endeavor.
“People who want to get into business normally need hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he adds. “This allows you to test the market, do a wealth of networking, explore a set of possibilities that save a lot of investment and money.”
These days signing up is as simple as visiting the El Pájaro CDC official website and requesting an appointment.
Early incubee Marumi Diaz of Watsonville spotted an orientation invite in the newspaper not long after the Incubator Kitchen debuted more than a dozen years ago. Now her Hakouya Miso Dressing is available at Aptos, Live Oak and Downtown Santa Cruz farmers markets, Staff of Life, H&H Fresh Fish, Elroy’s Fine Food, Seascape Foods and more.
She carried with her an abiding affection for her homemade miso paste, but through testing workflow and CDC input evolved something else.
“My passion is miso paste—I really love my miso!—and I wanted to introduce it to the world, but it would [sell] quickly, and fermentation takes months,” she says. “So I created the dressing.”
She credits CDC’s deep support staff for working as hard as she did.
“Every time I asked a question, they gave me the answers,” she says. “It’s really helpful, not just the kitchen, but the administrative help and business counseling. When we need it they’re there.”
More at elpajarocdc.org.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
