{"id":476103,"date":"2026-09-26T04:38:26","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:38:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476103\/"},"modified":"2026-09-26T04:38:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T04:38:26","slug":"latino-restaurant-week-honors-community-representation-and-great-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/476103\/","title":{"rendered":"Latino Restaurant Week honors community, representation and great food"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTry to save a little more and help others.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what Roberto Carlos Lemus\u2019 maternal mother, Filomena, always said to him.<\/p>\n

Two decades ago, Lemus\u2019 family opened a Latin restaurant called Pronto Grill in the San Fernando Valley. While the business only lasted for four years, seeing his family come together to put their home-cooked meals on sale, their passion for food and their willingness to help their community always stuck with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024, Lemus and Jos\u00e9 D\u00edaz Romero created the first-ever Latino Restaurant Week<\/a> in Long Beach with their company, Affluent Hispanic Philanthropies<\/a> \u2014 honoring what Lemus\u2019 family did decades ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pair were inspired by other restaurant weeks across Long Beach and, with a large local Latino population<\/a>, they saw a need to highlight the contributions Hispanic businesses bring to the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Founder and chef of the family-owned restaurant La Chancla Mexican Grill, Ismael Miramontes, works on a variety of catering orders with his family expeditiously on Sept. 20, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf something happens, [it\u2019s the restaurant owners who] are the first ones to get hit. However, when something bad happens, the restaurant owners are the first ones donating food, doing some type of fundraiser to help whatever cause it is,\u201d Lemus said. \u201cSo we thought, \u2018Why not give back to this group that is already supporting their community?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The primary intention behind Latino Restaurant Week is to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and talent of Latino-owned restaurants and chefs<\/a>, uplift the community and showcase culinary diversity.<\/p>\n

\"\"La Chancla Mexican Grill offers a wide variety of food options such as tacos, burritos, nachos, fajitas and enchiladas. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

Lemus mentions that Birria Tepechi, a business located on the west side of Long Beach (1440 Santa Fe Ave.), is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThose are the important stories that, in my opinion, it\u2019s important to tell,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re going into their third or fourth generation, so that\u2019s where Hispanic heritage is being highlighted through those different stories. Whether it\u2019s a win or a struggle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Latino Restaurant Week also focuses on bringing visibility to Latino businesses, helping owners create content and giving them a spotlight to share their story.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of these [businesses] don\u2019t have the budget for a social media director or a photographer,\u201d Lemus said. \u201cThat\u2019s the part where we can step in, bring in some of the supporters that we have behind us and give the support to the restaurant owners that deserve it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of those businesses is Confidential Coffee, a cozy, community-centered coffee shop that offers Mexican-inspired drinks in the heart of downtown Long Beach (137 W. Sixth St.).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Denise Maldonado, the owner of Confidential Coffee, poses outside of her Latina-owned coffee shop on Sept. 19, 2026. Maldonado has been a small business owner for eight years and her business has been showcased at Latino Restaurant Week since its inception. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\"\"Donuts sit on a glass-case box, visible to customers when they walk inside Confidential Coffee. The display case also showed blueberry bread and an assortment of other pastries. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

Denise Maldonado has owned Confidential Coffee for eight years and has been part of Latino Restaurant Week since its inception.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a small business owner, Maldonado often wears many hats. Whether it\u2019s managing the shop, marketing her business with social media or any number of other tasks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maldonado said Latino Restaurant Week has lent her a helping hand by bringing more eyes to her business with marketing, like the photoshoots they did for Confidential Coffee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt helps take things off my plate,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like being part of this and having the resources I have, it\u2019s helped me learn to take a step back and delegate more because there are people out there that want to help you and there are people out there that want to provide resources.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

During last year\u2019s Latino Restaurant Week kick-off event, Maldonado had the opportunity to converse with local business owners in the community. Someone she met suggested that she should apply for Level Up LB<\/a>, a program that offers an eight-week workshop alongside a $10,000 grant. Maldonado ended up getting into the trajectory-altering program.<\/p>\n

\"\"Juniper Bower, a barista and event coordinator for Confidential Coffee, pours a variety of drinks during the busy morning hours on Sept. 19, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune) <\/p>\n

\"\"Confidential Coffee has a variety of drinks such as the classic Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino and Latte. The coffee spot also brings in Mexican-inspired drinks such as the Cajeta Latte, Mexican Hot Chocolate and the Macha Horchata. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cTalking to other people [who] are [in] the same boat as me, it makes me feel like, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m not all alone,\u2019 [and] I feel like that has brought such a huge sense of community,\u201d she said about meeting new business owners during the kick-off event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Latino Restaurant Week brought in 16 participating restaurants, supported 29 brands and organizations, drew coverage from 13 media outlets and generated over 1,000,000 impressions on social media. The kick-off event itself had 300 attendees, according to their 2025 impact report<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are currently 18 restaurants participating in Latino Restaurant Week this year, according to Lemus, which include the following:\u00a0<\/p>\n

#9Pho<\/p>\n

Birria Tepechi<\/p>\n

Confidential Coffee<\/p>\n

El Viej\u00f3n Mariscos & Sushi<\/p>\n

Esp\u00edritu Parrillero<\/p>\n

Fuego at The Maya Long Beach<\/p>\n

Fuegos LA<\/p>\n

Honduras Kitchen<\/p>\n

La Chancla Mexican Grill<\/p>\n

La Nena Cantina<\/p>\n

Lima Cebicher\u00eda Peruana<\/p>\n

Mashup Ice Cream<\/p>\n

Masa y Taza<\/p>\n

Meat & Vino Market<\/p>\n

Taco Shore<\/p>\n

Tarantella on 4th<\/p>\n

Telef\u00e8ric Barcelona<\/p>\n

Zarap\u00e9 Cocina & Cantina<\/p>\n

One of the restaurants making its debut is Zarap\u00e9 Cocina & Cantina, which features a Mexican and Mediterranean fusion.<\/p>\n

Co-owners Stefano Mozher and On\u00e9simo \u201cOni\u201d M\u00e9ndez opened the restaurant in Long Beach in February of this year, marking almost eight months since the duo first made their mark on the 562.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Co-owners of Zarap\u00e9 Cocina & Cantina, On\u00e9simo \u201cOni\u201d M\u00e9ndez (left) and Stefano Mozher (right), pose right next to one of the murals that reference D\u00eda de Muertos on Sept. 23, 2026. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

When Zarap\u00e9 first opened, Lemus and Romero would come by and have dinner, and after the restaurant\u2019s re-grand opening in July, Mozher says the two paid a special visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey loved everything we do here and they felt this is something that Long Beach should know and so they came back here \u2026 [and] they were just blown away,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were offered to be part of it and the answer was 100% yes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mozher remembers the co-founders of Latino Restaurant Week insisting that their restaurant is unique to Long Beach\u2019s culinary landscape.<\/p>\n

Zarap\u00e9\u2019s creates their hand-crafted margaritas and signature cocktails with fresh natural ingredients and a variety of unique flavors to choose from, such as the lavender coconut margarita or the El Duende (which has jalape\u00f1o, mango and cilantro).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Stefano Mozher (left) and On\u00e9simo \u201cOni\u201d M\u00e9ndez (right), the co-owners of Zarap\u00e9 Cocina & Cantina, pose right next to their bar, which is visible when you walk in the door. (Samuel Chacko | Signal Tribune)<\/p>\n

M\u00e9ndez and Mozher agree that the visibility from Latino Restaurant Week was one of many benefits of joining the event.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does showcase what Long Beach is all about. I think [the events give] the exposure for us to communicate with the community and locals that come in and enjoy the events,\u201d Mozher said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With Latino Restaurant Week just around the corner, local business owners talked about the importance of having the annual event in Long Beach, which they say gives them a platform to tell their story and showcase the variety they offer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Latino Restaurant Week] is so super important because not only do we get that week, we get that spotlight, we get that representation, we get that voice that has been so hard for us to have,\u201d Maldonado said.<\/p>\n

Latino Restaurant Week will host its kick-off event on Oct. 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Onni East Village Courtyard (333 E. Broadway Ave.) and its third edition of Latino Restaurant Week from Oct. 5 to 11.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information, check out the Latino Restaurant Week website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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