We like to feature certain exotic fruit, depending on the season. What we are known for is our exotic fruit like dragonfruit, golden kiwi, and jackfruit. We have fruit bowls, juices, and toppings. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others? What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. Thank you to all the people who came and bought something from us. You can do anything in life, you just have to work hard and put 100% into it. I give credit to the past generations of immigrants who started with nothing and worked hard to create businesses in this country. I give credit to my in-laws who have always been supportive of us and our crazy ideas. Life isn’t easy, nothing is handed to you. They taught me that you have to work hard for everything you want in life. He pushed me to come out of my shell, be more confident, and do new things I never thought I would do. When he has an idea or wants something, he goes for it. He was already designing the cart the very next day. He was the first one to be like okay, lets do it. FruitStop wouldn’t be where it’s at if it weren’t for him. I have to give a lot of credit to my business partner, my husband. Instead of separating people, we wanted to bring our cultures together and give the community something that was new but also something they were familiar with.Īny shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role? LA is a melting pot of different cultures. The thing I really don’t get is that why does a thing like fruit belong to a certain race? Fruit is a universal thing. We had to do everything, from getting money to buy our cart, waking up early to go to the market, prepping the fruit, vending, to social media, and design work. It’s hard when people try to discredit your hard work. I didn’t understand why they were trying to bring down a small business, and one that was actually owned by people of color. I wasn’t used to that kind of hate and judgment from strangers. People were saying things like you’re horrible people, you should go back to Europe, someone should tip their cart, don’t support them, they’re probably rich white people trying to steal jobs from Mexicans, your food sucks, and so on. Someone had took a photo of our cart and posted on Twitter and Instagram, “Gentrification at it’s finest.” Our phones were blowing up with hundreds of hate comments. The one that was hardest for me was when we received backlash on social media after vending at CicLAvia. From overcoming fear of street vending for the first time, going to a new location, throwing away bad fruit, dealing with the season and market change, days of making no money, to working endless hours, night and day. Each step in the business was a struggle. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a smooth road in business. Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? I saw the fruit cart as a way to do that. I realized that a lot of people didn’t know about these fruits and I wanted to share it with them. Having an Asian background, I was exposed to a lot of exotic fruit like mangosteen, jackfruit, lychee, rambutan, and persimmons. But nothing really beats fresh fruit with chile, lime, and chamoy… especially on a hot day. I loved everything elotes, lucas, pinwheels, raspados, fruit with chile & lime…. Every time I saw a cart, whether it was the elote man, fruitero, or paletero man, I would chase after them. Growing up in LA, I think everyone grew up eating from carts. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there. Thanks for sharing your story with us Jeannette. Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeannette Herrera.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |