Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name: Jesmar Spices

Country of Origin: Santa Cruz Tacache de Mina - Oaxaca, Mexico

Significance of Name: The name is a mix of the only daughters fist and last name, (Jes)sica (Mar)tinez: “Jesmar” Spices.

Goals for Business: Silverios goals are to expand his packaged salsa business to sell in retailers. He plans on focusing only on packaged products but would also love to work more at farmers markets to sells tacos as a way for people to try his marinades and packaged goods. His long term goal is to have a place to produce and package his products such as a restaurant, or grocery store with a butcher shop!    

Silverio’s Story

My name is Silverio Martinez, I was born in a town called Santa Cruz Tacache de Mina that in the beginning was dedicated to shepherding sheep and growing cotton, that's why the name of Tacache which in the Mixtec dialect means sheep behind the cotton field.

In my childhood I worked in the fields planting corn, beans and peanuts. My house is located one kilometer from the Mixteco river in Oaxaca, Mexico. My housewife mother and my peasant father. At school time I would leave school and go with my father to plant and care for the goats. My mother made a sauce with spices to dry the meat, because there was no refrigeration and we also covered the cheese with the leaves of a plant so that it stayed longer. It was from her that I learned to mix chilies with spices to create the marinades that I sell today. In addition to giving a very good flavor to the meat, it is preserved for a longer time.

My maternal grandfather was a butcher or "matanzas" as we called him in my town. Thanks to him I learned to work meat and that is why my marinades are special for preparing roasts.

Due to the economic situation of my family, I only studied elementary school. I emigrated from Oaxaca to the Federal District at the age of 16 where I worked in butchers and improving my work. When he was 26 years old, he emigrated to the United States. I worked in a restaurant for 5 years and then in a Mexican store for 12 years. In the Mexican store I prepared the marinades and they sold very well. That was how I decided to start my own business and stop working for someone else. Now they are my clients.

My business is called Jesmar Spices after my only daughter Jessica Martinez. I chose the word Spices because I make hot sauces and use 100% natural spices. My marinades are made from dried chili peppers, spices and citrus fruit juices such as lemon, orange and pineapple. Right now I am selling my wholesale marinades at butchers in the Portland Metro region and the current plan is to make my marinades in cans for the consumer to use their creativity and marinate their meats at home.

Jesmar Spices

Jesmar Spices is a company based on true traditional recipes mixed with years of experience. The man behind it all is Silverio Martinez. His story with spices began as a kid when he would learn by seeing his grandfather cook with spices and marinades to help preserve meats. Where Silverio is from refrigeration was a commodity that not many had, thus the use of spices to preserve food is very common. His grandpa himself had many years of experience and many perfected recipes that he passed on to Silverio. Due to the bad economic states of his hometown, he decided to migrate to the United States in 1997, with the hopes of finding a stable job to help out his family back home. His dream however was always to earn enough money to establish a grocery store business with a butcher shop back home to go back and run it with his family. 

         During the first few years in the U.S, he worked regular restaurant jobs to make ends meet. In 2004 he began working at a butcher shop at a Mexican store. He would use his own recipes to marinade the meats sold at this shop and realized there was a high demand for his products. This is where he began to realize that his work had more value than what he was being compensated for. He constantly asked for a raise and in all his years there his max pay only reached thirteen dollars. This sparked his entrepreneurial spirit and slowly began looking for ways to begin his own business. 

         In 2016 he began working with the Portland Mercado trough the Empresarios Program where he learned about how to properly establish a business here. In 2017 he got his license and began selling his marinades and spices to local stores. During this period he was working a regular job at night and focused on. growing is business during the day. As time went on his business began picking up to the point where he decided to spend his savings on a work truck to help deliver his products. 

        Jesmar Spices currently has products in 11 stores and supplies 4 food carts around town with his marinades. As his business continued to grow, he began to sell tacos at local farmer's markets. His first event ever was the street fair in Milwaukee, Oregon. He began selling food as a way to fund his spices business and to promote them as well since he uses his marinades to add flavor to his meats. This part of his business brought some though challenges for Silverio to face since he had never sold as a vendor himself. He undervalued his products but thanks to feedback from peers and customers he raised his prices to make a better profit margin which reflected the quality of his work. Sadly, COVID-19 has brought a halt to this part of his business but his entrepreneurial spirit has led him to evolve along with the tough times.      

        Silverio is currently focusing on selling his packaged products has recently begun developing packaged salsas made with secret recipes that he has slowly developed using his roots and traditional recipes as inspiration. YUM! 

         The three salsas are Salsa Verde, Salsa Diabla, and Salsa Puya! Currently only available at select restaurants. For inquiries or samples please contact Silverio personally.

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Manuela and her family are owners of Loncheria Los Mayas, a staple food cart in the Cully neighborhood, located at Alder Commons. Read more about how she and her family found housing, after-school support, and got on the path to starting their business thanks to support from Hacienda’s affordable housing and holistic programming.

Manuela moved to Portland and hoped to find a safe, affordable space for her husband and three children to live in. Her and her family eventually made it happen when they moved into apartments in Northeast Portland, but soon began facing troubles when their home did not provide adequate living conditions. Her youngest son developed asthma from the walls in their home. This situation caused worry and concern and Manuela knew they would have to move elsewhere to ensure the health of her children.

Although Manuela recognized the necessity to leave their home for the safety of her family, affordability was a priority. Up until that point, she had heard through friends and neighbors about Hacienda CDC and knew about the various programs and services. Community members encouraged Manuela to look into the possibility of renting through the community development organization as it would offer her the opportunity to live in a better environment at a price she and her family could afford. Soon, Manuela and her family of five were welcomed to one of Hacienda’s communities.

Slowly but surely, Manuela regained much-needed hope and began to look into additional Hacienda programming. In doing so, she learned about Expresiones; an after-school and summer enrichment program for youth in Hacienda communities. Even though Manuela helped her three children in whichever way possible, due to her busy schedule and limited schooling in Mexico, she knew she needed additional support for their academics. Her daughters soon obtained on-site homework help from bi-lingual and bi-cultural staff that understood them and their community and had a safe place to go spend their time after school.

Both Manuela and her husband Freddy aspired for more and wanted to build something of their own for their family. Since moving to the United States many years ago, they always dreamed of starting their own business and fulfilling this desire. With a goal and ambition in mind, they began saving to pursue this life-long dream. They soon found it difficult to navigate the many steps of starting a business alone.

“I feel like when you start something big it’s like walking in the dark...Hacienda is a like a light, a beacon, that appeared on the road”

It was at this point that they looked into the Mercado Empresario’s program, Hacienda’s program to support small businesses, from raising captial to business advising and provides bi-lingual and bi-cultural technical support to clients. Once they began the program themselves, they found clarity and a sense of direction to continue on their journey and start their own business with confidence.

In 2016 they opened Loncheria Los Mayas, a food cart in the Cully neighborhood inspired by Manuela and her husband’s indigenous Mexican roots.  This one-of-a-kind food cart can be found in Alder Commons where guests enjoy authentic regional foods—from a classic Yucatan Panucho to handmade tortillas. Every dish at Los Mayas celebrates their love for their home country and is a testament to their culture and their dreams.

Loncheria Los Mayas is far more than just a food cart. As Manuela says, “Our dream is to teach people about our culture and traditional flavors originating from the Mayan times.”.

Manuel now encourages others to learn more about Hacienda, as it is more than just proving affordable housing. She that Hacienda supports many facets of a person’s life and reflects on the support she received by saying, “I feel like when you start something big it's like walking in the dark...Hacienda is a like a light, a beacon, that appeared on the road.”

The success of their business embodies the completion of heartfelt goals. It signifies the challenges and perseverance Manuel and her family endured. From leaving their homeland to making their dreams a reality, Manuela’s journey is a roadmap for others looking to reach their dreams and Hacienda is proud to have been a part of her story.

Follow Loncheria Los Mayas on Instagram and pay them a visit at Alder Commons (4212 NE Prescott St, Portland, OR 97218).

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name: La Porteña

Country of Origin: Buenos Aires, Argentina | Los Angeles, CA

Significance of Name:  In Argentina “Porteño” is what you lovingly call someone from Buenos Aires. It also pertains to any port city so as Portlanders we hold the same title so that inspired the name “La Porteña”.

Goals for Business: The goal is to get into as many retailers as they can and to expand into more stores. In the future she also plans on releasing more products but her current focus is on the two current products out.

Jessica’s Story

Meet Jessica, Causey, she is the owner of La Porteña. Originally from Los Angeles, California, she has been resident of Portland Oregon for about 25 years. Born of Spaniard and Argentinian decent, she grew up eating traditional meals all her youth which have inspired her recipes today.

Jessicas Mother who is from Galicia, Spain—the North Western part of Spain—moved to Argentina with her family right after the Spanish Civil War. It is there where her mother met her father. He was born in Argentina from Italian parents. After marrying and living, and having a child together, they decided to migrate to the United States in the 70s in search for a better life. Is here where they had Jessica, who grew up in a household full of tradition and delicious foods, inspired by the culture of both parents.

After growing up and going to school in LA for a degree in Early Childhood Education, she decided to move to Oregon in search for a fresh start. Upon arriving, she began working in a Spanish immersion kinder garden. Eventually she got burned out of that carrier and decided to test her luck in the food industry. She worked multiple restaurant jobs where she learned different aspects of that business. During this time she was simultaneously brewing the idea of starting a food cart. She found help from Mercy-Corps but that idea never flourished. However, her goal of creating a business in the food industry to highlight her culture and family traditions was always there. Thanks for the feedback from her peers and family, she decided to package her famous Chimichurri and fine tuned her recipes alongside her mother.

Her packaged business began after randomly meeting Mike Adams, a food scientist who worked for the Food Innovation Center and setting up a consultation. This is where she got the help and direction to properly package and label her product which she brought to market initially through farmers markets and other local events. During this time she reach out to the Portland Mercado after hearing about it from a friend, but unfortunately missed the enrollment date for the Empresarios Bootcamp. The following year she was part of the program and also began to utilize the commercial kitchen to make, and package her products while meeting other likeminded entrepreneurs in the Portland Mercado community. Thanks to her hard work and the help of multiple organizations, her business quickly evolved but due to COVID-19, many of her exposure opportunities vanished. Luckily her Chimichurri “Moms green” and “Spicy Red” can now be found at Portland Farmers Markets, Peoples Co-ops, Local Milk Run, Market of Choice, Montavilla Market, and Masa Fresh so you are still able to find it in stores.

About La Porteña

La Porteña is a small batch Argentine Chimichurri company made in Portland, Oregon. With the use of traditional ingredients and a flavorful spicy twist, this Chimichurri is sure to spark a flair at your future asada BBQ gathering.

With the help of organizations like Hacienda and Portland Mercado, Prosper Portland, GYRM, Built Oregon, and the OSU Food Innovation Center, La Porteña was born in May of 2019. La Porteña is committed to growing a diverse food economy, supporting our local farmers, and building strong communities between growers and producers.

Chimichurri is an uncooked sauce used both, in cooking, and as a table condiment for grilled meat. A specialty of Argentina and Uruguay, the sauce comes in a green and a red version—the red being the spicy one. It is made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano and red wine vinegar and certain family recipes vary. La Porteña is company whose product output possibilities are wide but their current focus is only on packaged Chimichurri but plans to venture on other products in the future once her brand presence is well established.

Her two current Chimichurris Are:

-The “Spicy Red Chimi” which is inspired by the rich latin flavors they grew up with . Made with sun drenched heat of chilis grown in the Andes of South America and combined with traditional fresh ingredients, this smoky, savory chili will transform any meal. Spoon over your favorite grilled foods, combine with roasted potatoes or veggies, mix with grains or simply use as a dip or spread. Love it with empanadas, pizza or any other meal. It’s the “everything sauce” you won’t want to live without!

-The “Mom’s Green Chimi” is inspired by tradition of offering you a seat at the family get-together—Argentinians are very welcoming! The garlic herb finishing sauce will elevate your meal with its bright, fresh flavors. With the use of locally sourced ingredients and specialty Argentine spices, it delivers a truly authentic taste you can’t find anywhere else. Mom’s Green Chimi is great drizzled over grilled foods, mixed into rice and pasta or simply a delicious dipping oil for bread. It’s simply delicious!

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Name of Business: How Sweet It Is

Country of Origin: California, United States

Significance of Name: The name was selected with the idea of having a broad spectrum of products vs being tried down to a specialty product. With a broad range of skills and recipes, the owners plan into venturing to other products such as pastries and deserts. Ultimately, the name was selected through trial and error and a lot of deliberation.

Goals for Business:  Bryan and Pilar want to focus on expansion and partnerships with major retailers. Currently their focus is to survive past COVID-19, and to continue to grow their small shop located at Multnomah Village French Quarter, once businesses can safely open up again. To survive, they are selling through their shop online and through other vendors, while still offering custom orders with local delivery.     

Pilar and Bryan’s Story

Meet Pilar and Bryan Vocker they are the owners of How Sweet It Is—a candy shop company in Portland, Oregon. They have been married for thirteen years and have four kids. About three years back they began contemplating the idea of opening a candy shop and utilizing their skills. What was then simply an idea, quickly turned into a reality when Bryan lost his job.

Bryan is a candy maker with about ten years of experience, and a graduate of culinary school. His path to this carrier began while working restaurant jobs in his youth which eventually led him to venture into jobs at bakeries and similar shops. In search or a new discipline, he reached out to the old candy shop Preston's Candy and Ice Cream, in Burlingame, California to learn the tradition. There he learned many original recipes which he would later fuse with his own ideas to create new and traditional products.

Pilar comes from a family in the upholstery business, so her entrepreneurship spirit is something she inherited. Being the resourceful person that she is, she began looking for help on getting this business started after her and Bryan hit the green light in moving forward with the idea. With the knowledge of programs such as La Cocina, in California, they sought after help from non-profit organizations here in Oregon until eventually learning about the Portland Mercado. She reached out to be part of the Empresarios Bootcamp but missed the enrollment date. They would apply a year later and entered with an already established company with the hopes of expansion. There they learned about to how structure their company and other technical business details.

Together, Bryan and Pilar are a power couple that will stop at nothing to continue their growth. Although, COVID-19 has impacted them greatly, they are currently focused on their digital contact with their clients. They are also currently looking to enter retailers or digitals shops. They are also currently offering products to order and through their shop on their website. Delivery to your doorstep is also available within in Portland, Oregon so give them a call

About How Sweet It IsHow Sweet

It is, is a husband and wife owned, small batch, handcrafted confectionery company. They create and sell a variety of candy, chocolates, cookies, caramel corn, and other seasonal sweet treats.

With a small shop at the Multnomah Village French Quarter, they have offering fresh made products up until their temporary closure due to COVID-19. Currently you can place a custom order or shop through their website. Each batch is made fresh with local ingredients and lots of love. They live by the idea that behind every sweet treat, there is a story to tell. Whether a treat takes you back to grandma's kitchen or if you have memories with a friend while on vacation—memories are the foundation of their recipes and business!   

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name: HAB Sauce

Area of Origin: Los Angeles, CA | Portland, OR

Significance of Name:  David and his wife chose the name while brainstorming. They chose “HAB” because of the Habanero chili, which they use most. The final name being “HAB Sauce” due to the fact that they are a sauce company.

David’s Story

Meet David van Overeem, owner and creator, of HAB Sauce. He was born from diverse family lineage and a childhood filled with the flavors of Indonesia and Latin America. His father was born in Indonesia and moved to Holland to enroll in the Dutch navy. Later on, he moved to the United States in the 50s, where he would meet the woman who is Davids mother. She is from Latin decent, born native to Los Angeles California. It was there where David was born in 1981.

David grew up in a very diverse family household and community which played a huge role on who he is and what HAB Sauce is. Growing up he would spend time with both parents, whose cuisine variance exposed him to a wide range of flavors and recipes. All which would inspire his sauces today.

In his teen years, David moved to Selam, Oregon where he lived for a few years until 2004, when he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he currently still resides. David is a person of many virtues, and has experience as a DJ, Producer and Performer, amongst many other talents. Talent that has taken him around the world to perform as a turn tableist with other well known artists in the genre.

Through his adulthood, David settled down from his travels and worked locally in PDX. He built a family and settled down while continuing with his passion of music and art. Year later,David had a daughter, which led him to make the decision to become a stay at home dad—with the goal of spending his time raising his kid and planning out his next move in life. Eventually she grew older and he had to make the decision to go back to work or to find another way of making income. While on the verge of signing up to a coding class with the idea of becoming a coder, he stopped himself last minute and talked himself into making a hot sauce company instead. The idea came from his hobby of grilling and his love for spicy food growing up. He says that for along time, while getting together with friends for BBQ’s, he would always make the salsas happen somehow! “We wouldn’t have much, but I would take whatever ingredients we had and made it work. Make the most out of what you have!”.

Fueled by his desire to create sensational sauces that could be shared with family and friends, he began HAB Sauce using recipes he could pass down to his daughters. Drawing inspiration from his young age where he was able to taste flavors from all sides of the family, he now finds himself recreating those flavors from his childhood and expanding on them. Handmade in small batches with carefully selected fruits and an array of hot peppers. HAB Sauces strikes the perfect balance of sweet and heat. David’s passion for food and flavor radiates when he speaks, a passion he largely attributes to his diverse background.

About HAB Sauce

HAB Sauce is a company based in Portland, Oregon. Inspired by a passion of grilling and making sauces for friends and family, to now being an awarded, well known local sauce found in dozens of shelves around town. 

        When David decided to take the plunge into the industry, he enrolled in the Portland Mercado Business Foundations, Empresarios Boot Camp; where he learned the basics and procedures to properly establish his business. It is also there where he met a buyer from New Seasons who eventually helped him get HAB Sauce on their shelves.

      According to David, it’s not just the pepper that makes the sauce. It is the belief that a killer hot sauce starts with fresh, high-quality ingredients. He can find the highest-quality ingredients for his recipes through the strong relationships he has with farmers throughout Oregon. Such as the peaches and firewood he gets from a farmer in Dayton, Oregon. David’s passion for ingredients is evident when you try his sauces. They have a body and depth, unlike most commercial hot sauces. Together the onions, garlic, tomatillos, and chilis create an aromatic flavor that completely invigorates your palate.

       In addition to the unique flavor profiles that HAB Sauce sauce offers, consumers will also notice vibrant, beautiful artwork on each bottle they purchase. This is something that David is particularly proud of. “The labels are completely inspired by my friends and my brother, who is a graphic artist,” David explained. “I have friends from old graffiti crews I was in and they’re designing with me and it’s great. Their art inspires me so much and I want to put it out there in the world. Who would have thought that when you go to the grocery store you also see our art on the shelves?”

       Today, HAB Sauce has six signature hot sauce flavors with occasional limited-edition flavor releases, like their Smoked Cherrywood Hot Habanero sauce. You can find HAB Sauce in dozens of grocery

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name : Tita’s Kitchen

Area of Origin: Lima, Peru.

Significance of Name: "Tita" is how her younger sister started calling her since she was a baby because she couldn't pronounce "Hermanita" and after a while all of her cousins started to call her by the same name. Since Tita's Kitchen is a family oriented Food Truck, it only makes sense to name it after her family-given name.

Goals for Business: Tita’s goal is have a successful launch and acceptance from the community. She hopes to one day grow and expand her business to a location outside of the Portland Mercado and eventually have multiple locations throughout the North West.  

Tita’s Story

Meet Fabiola Chipoco a 28-year-old entrepreneur from Lima, Peru, and owner of the new Portland Mercado Food Truck: Tita’s Kitchen. Fabiola's story as an entrepreneur began early on thanks to her father's influence. As the oldest daughter of two, she always had an urge to get things done. She entered college at the age of 16 and graduated with a Digital Marketing and Advertising degree from a university in Peru. During her schooling, she began working with local businesses as an independent contractor in advertising and branding to make extra money. Little did she know that was the start of what was to become her first company. When she graduated, she got a full-time job at an advertising company while she continued to work independently with private clients. It was during her time at this job when she realized that she preferred the more intimate interactions of her side hustle versus the agency job. She explained that the difference in how the work gets done and the freedom of creativity is unmatched between both jobs. When working with smaller clients, she felt more listened to and with more space to propose unique and creative ideas that she had. 

After quitting her full-time job, she focused a lot more on her own company and eventually worked with up to 8 businesses simultaneously before deciding to drop everything and go! She wanted a change in her life; One with new ventures and opportunities where she could be herself and utilize her skills. At the age of twenty-three, she sold her car and used up her saving to move to explore the world and eventually settled in Miami, Florida, where she knew some friends. As always, Fabiola did not have trouble adapting to her new life. She utilized her talents and skills as a dancer to become a dance instructor and even performing in videos for famous musicians. She was creative and with a drive to be successful. Sadly, she never felt at home and always felt out of place. One day, thanks to a friend's recommendation, she decided to move to Portland, Oregon, with hopes of filling the void.

About Tita’s Kitchen

Titas Kitchen offers innovative, tasty, and healthy Peruvian food in the North West. They specialize in Peruvian cuisine and are influenced by traditional recipes and with a fresh touch of local ingredients to enhance or replace seasonal and foreign ingredients. 

Owner, Fabiola Chipoco, who is from Lima, Peru, says her inspiration behind the business is the idea of bringing the warmth and the sense of home that food brings to her and her family, to her whole community. Fabiola, who goes by the nickname “Tita” left Peru at the age of 23 to travel around the world. When she did she left behind two of the most important things in her life: her family and her home. Tita was lucky enough to meet amazing people and see new places during her travels, but nothing ever felt like home. Tita's Kitchen is her way of recreating the atmosphere, flavors, and traditions that she so dearly misses from Peru. The feeling of unity and the connection with family while sharing a meal was something that she could not feel anywhere else, so she wants to create it.  

Tita has always had a love for food and cooking. After arriving in Portland and seeing the diversity of foods from all over the world available, she felt inspired and urged to bring her culture to our table. Her venture in the food industry started thanks to the guidance of a well know Peruvian restaurant in Seattle, Washington, known as Don Luchos. Tita reached out to the business owner of Don Luchos and asked for a chance to meet him in person to ask him some questions. Thanks to his generosity, he helped her learn and perfect traditional Peruvian recipes while teaching her about the food industry. As a sort of apprentice, she grew knowledgeable enough to leap into starting her own business. A vision that started to manifest itself when she learned about the applications for the vacant Portland Mercado carts. She did not doubt in applying and expressing her vision and instantly became a reality.

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name:

Nana’s Exquisite Confections

area of Origin:

Gresham, Oregon

Significance of Name: 

The name was selected because Florence wanted a name that was classy and celebrates yesterdays. She included “Nana’s” later on when she became a nanny and also to celebrate the other women in her life who taught her what she knows: Her mother and grandmother.

Goals for Business: 

When COVID-19 hit, Nana’s Exquisite Confections shut down completely due to the fact that she did not want to be liable for anything and she was not too sure what the county would mandate. As she learned more about the precautions needed to fulfill orders in a sanitary way, she opened back up and has since followed all the safety protocols to provide the highest quality and service possible. Her goal to grow her digital presence to connect with more individuals and customers who love and appreciate the fine work of yesterday deserts.

Florence’s Story

Meet Florence Jenkins, owner, and founder of Nana’s Exquisite Confections. She was born and raised in Portland, OR, and was blessed to have parents and grandparents that advocated and role-modeled the importance of working hard. They intentionally instilled entrepreneurial characteristics in their children hoping that one day they would go on to be their own boss. In 2008, Florence brought that investment from her parents into fruition by starting an In-Home Baker business that focuses on providing high-quality, up-scale “Yester Year” style desserts to a varied audience.

Florence has a love for children and especially the youth. A few years ago she began facilitating Cooking Classes for youth (Teen Cuisine) where she’s not only able to teach the youth basic cooking skills within their own homes, but she’s also able to speak words of affirmation through the process and see on-site transformations in the kids she teaches. Florence has had the opportunity to provide cooking session services for, Kitchen Commons, HomeForward, New Avenues for Youth, The Oregon Youth Authority’s MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility, and for a host of private participants. Florence declares that our youth shall live and not be destroyed from having a defeatist mentality. Although Florence’s vision hasn’t come to full fruition, she firmly believes that even baby steps are deemed as a forwarding movement.

Florence is a kind lady who is ready to put a smile on your face and full belly with a clean plate. Her recipes are traditional and made with high-quality ingredients.

About Nana’s Exquisite Confections

Nana’s Exquisite Confections is proud to be a women-owned bakery that passionately produces up-scale versions of “Yester-Year” desserts. They believe that there is an untapped, limited market for home-style desserts made of premium ingredients, traditional recipes, and a lot of love. If you’re an individual that appreciates the time and preparation that goes into making high-quality desserts from scratch, then Nana’s is the bakery for you!

The fruition of Exquisite Indulgence Desserts, now called Nana’s Exquisite Confections, was not something that happened by chance. In 2006, through the tugging of her heart and soul, Florence Jenkins felt the need to begin using her gifts, talents, and abilities to make a difference for others. As a middle child, she has always been a peacekeeper and always loved sharing and showing love to others. She decided to start a bakery because of her love for cooking which came from growing up baking with her mother and grandmother. She loves to see the warmth and happiness in people’s faces as she presents them with a cake or dessert. What she loves the most, however, is spending time teaching the youth about basic home cooking while talking and coaching them in life to become better people and making sure they know they are loved. Love is a key ingredient in all of her confections.

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Business Name:

Principe Maya

Country of Origin:

Chumayel, Yucatán, Mexico

Significance of Name:

The name was selected because by the owner because he wanted to represent his origins in the name and the fact that a lot of these recipes are often served to royalty or people of high status.     

Goals for Business: 

Edilberto’s focus is to settle down and find his rhythm with his new business and to grow. He hopes to one day open up a restaurant where he owns the property to avoid paying rent but most importantly, he wants the independence that being a small business owners can offer him.

Ediberto’s Story

Edilberto Puch arrived to the United States in 2001, leaving his hometown after his brother suffered a critical accident which put him in a coma. He wanted to be able to help pay the bills which were stacking up.

After arriving to the U.S, Edilberto settled down and worked in restaurants as a dishwasher. With time, he gained and improved his skills. Eventually, he moved up positions to being a cook where he learned essential skills and techniques which have helped him improve his craft.  

As time passed by, he began to miss the foods and rich flavors from his hometown. This led him to reach out to his family for their traditional home recipes with the hopes of learning them. Later on, he was able to connect with an aunt who also immigrated to Portland, and he asked her to teach him how to properly cook these ancient recipes. She was delighted to help and not only did she help him perfect his recipes but she also now helps cook in this new venture. You can be left assured that these recipes will take you back centuries to the era of the Mayan civilization. 

It was not until years later after connecting with his aunt that this dream of opening up his own business became reality. In 2020, during the start of the pandemic, Edilberto lost his job due to labor cuts. Because he was having so many difficulties finding a new job, he decided to start looking into the opportunity of starting his own business. He reached out to the Portland Mercado after learning about their services and entrepreneurship opportunities. After a lot of coordination, paperwork, and handwork, Ediberto was able to finalize a deal on renting a food Cart at our Portland Mercado Location. He and his traditional flavors and recipes are members of our beloved family and community! 

About Principe Maya

Principe Maya joined the Portland Mercado food carts with a focus on recreating traditional recipes from the Mayans, who once flourished in the Peninsula of Yucatán. Their Ancient Mayan diet focused on four domesticated crops: maize, squash, beans, and chili peppers. Tortillas, cooked on a “comal” were also staples of their diet. These were often used to wrap other foods like meats, beans, etc. Tortillas are perhaps the best-known pre-Columbian Mesoamerican food but they used maize in many ways. Some notable uses were on their Tamales and Pibes, which were usually “Masa” stuffed with meats, adobos and wrapped in banana leaves to be slowly cooked in dug-out fire pits.

Ediberto grew up eating these dishes from his mother and elders who learned the recipes through their elders. Having survived generations, most of the dishes have evolved now that we are in the 21st century. The way these dishes are made and cooked have adapted to our modern life and thus fire pits are no longer used. The goal at Principe Maya is to prepare dishes true to their origins by using local ingredients mixed with imported spices. Sadly, no fire pit is possible. 

Learn more about our Empresarios program and other businesses at the Portland Mercado.

Jaclyn Sarna, helping students through our Expresiones program.

In early December, Hacienda celebrated Jaclyn Sarna as our newest Chief Operating Officer!

Jaclyn has been working at Hacienda for over 10 years and began her career as an After-School Program Coordinator. She continued her trajectory into management and was recently the Interim Chief Operating Officer before taking on this new opportunity.

We appreciate Jaclyn’s leadership, stewardship, and tenacity. She is a great leader serving alongside Hacienda faithfully. Read more about Jaclyn and her story.

Jaclyn Sarna, Chief Operating Officer

Jaclyn Sarna, has stepped in as our new Chief Financial Officer as of March 2022. As we transition into a new chapter on our finance team, we have also welcomed new leadership to our Real Estate and Economic Opportunity departments.

Jerome has a background in investment management, commercial real estate finance and development, renewable energy finance, and financial services industries. In addition, he has over 20 years of experience in affordable housing finance in all aspects of the industry, including equity investing, investor relations, construction, and permanent lending. Jerome gained this experience under Fannie Mae, HUD, and private banking. Jerome also brings significant expertise in CDFI funding and administration, helping organizations diversify and strengthen their products to increase their impact and financial stability.

Jerome graduated from the University of Illinois, Chicago, and holds Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Public Accountant Certifications. Jerome comes to us from Castle Island Group Consulting in the Chicago Metro Area.

Hacienda is increasing its impact and growing its team.
Want to learn about new opportunities to build community? Visit our careers page.

Thanks to generous support from Travel Oregon and Prosper Portland, the Portland Mercado has welcomed a new addition: a custom mural by local artist, Christian Tellez, in partnership with the Portland Street Art Alliance.

“We are thrilled to have this beautiful addition to the Portland Mercado,” says Ernesto Fonseca, Hacienda CEO, “which will enhance this community space and serve as a testament to the colorful, bold, and dynamic individuals that make up our community at the Portland Mercado, and the vibrant and eclectic cultures that are a part of our heritage.”

Originally from Mexico, Christian is a licensed architect and accomplished artist with completed works in Oregon, Texas, and Puebla, Mexico. His background in architecture and interior design and extensive experience designing residential and commercial spaces, allow him to create unique and beautiful works like the Mercado Mural. We chatted with him to learn more about what this project means to him and the community at large.

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Tell us about yourself!

Muralist Christian Tellez with Ernesto Fonseca, CEO of Hacienda CDC

I'm from a town called Chachapa in Puebla, Mexico. I graduated as an Architect in Mexico, and I work as an architectural design staff here in Portland.

What does it mean to you to be a part of this mural project at the Portland Mercado?

It means an opportunity to keep introducing myself to the community. I like to become part of a community as an active member enhancing public spaces with art and culture and remembering I'm able to change my environment and raise my opinion. 

What does a place like the Portland Mercado mean to you? What impact have you seen it have on the community?

The Mercado reminds me of those warmer places when you are far away from your family, friends, and roots, making you feel at home. It is a place to re-charge your energy. It's essential to have these places to share our culture and have safe and welcoming places for diverse cultures.

Your work as an artist and an architect works to both enhance and physically create new spaces. What does a vibrant community look like to you?

To me, a vibrant community should be the example of a living community where you can see the product of cultural interaction and dialogue. A vibrant community is constantly transforming itself to respond to community needs that develop its vision for the future.

Your work as an architect is also directly connected to our new affordable housing developments, Las Adelitas! Tell us what it means to be a part of a project like this that will bring 142 new affordable homes to the Cully neighborhood.

It feels great to be part of a multicultural and inclusive team at Salazar Architect. Providing quality housing project options to the community is part of the solution to the housing crisis we’re seeing. I'm sure it will be a significant improvement to the area.

The Latinx population increased 30% over the last 10 years. What is your personal hope for the growing Latinx community in Portland?

I hope the quality of interaction between cultures grows. Having diverse roots allows us to bring the best of each place to our new home, our new environment, and share them. We have to help each other create opportunities to connect and constantly grow as a community with solid values.

Keep up to date with Christian’s work on Instagram and be sure to visit his vibrant new mural that provides a striking visual for visitors at the Portland Mercado.

About the Portland Mercado

Did you know the Portland Mercado, known for its delicious meals and vibrant atmosphere is actually much more?

Portland Mercado is just one part of Empresarios, our entrepreneurial program with a focus on supporting women-, minority- and immigrant-owned business owners— giving them the tools they need to achieve the dreams they have for their business, their families, and their future.

Learn more about our small business support programming.

Hacienda CDC’s Empresarios programming supports entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses. Read more about our featured Empresario and learn about our amazing community of small business owners.

Following a successful series of pop-ups at the Portland Mercado, Mya Sandy Myint, who has been in the Mercado Empresarios program since August 2019, has transitioned to opening her first brick-and-mortar food stall at the CORE (Collective Oregon Eateries) food hall in South East Portland. She is planning on opening this year. Along with participating in our boot camp and advising programming, Sandy also received logo and branding support via the Empresarios design pilot program. She is currently enrolled for a business Individual Development Account (IDA) through Hacienda CDC for added capital to support her continued growth forward.

We connected with Sandy to learn more about her experience in the Empresarios program: 

Tell us about yourself, your business, and how you connected with Empresarios? 

I migrated to the United States in 2005 from Myanmar. I had a restaurant business for 11 years in my country and started my business, Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine, in Portland in 2019.  In that time, I started my business at a farmer’s market. For the farmer’s market, I needed to find a commissary kitchen to serve food to the community. I searched in Google for the nearest in my area for Commissary Kitchen and I found Portland Mercado Commissary Kitchen and I submit my application. The response was very fast and I got connected with a Business Engagement Specialist and received lots of information and connected to Hacienda CDC. I attended the Boot Camp Program and took a business class from PCC with a scholarship I received from the program. After that, I got assigned a business advisor.  

How did Empresarios impact you and your business trajectory? 

Since I came to this country as an immigrant I didn’t have any knowledge about business [in this country] especially the food and restaurant business, because they have so many rules and regulations. I had no idea. So I went to the boot camp and I got a lot of context and information that is very helpful for my business and helps me keep going with my business. My advisor and the supportive grants I’ve received from Hacienda have helped me survive. My dream is to continue gaining more and more education to support my business. I want to build up and grow Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine more and more.  

What would you say to someone wanting to start a business of their own? 

Sandy and her son Brandon

I would recommend them to Hacienda and if they wanted to go into the food business I’d tell them to look at the commissary kitchen. That is a very good place to start to build your business. Hacienda is wonderful and gives a lot of support. For people like me, a minority woman in a small community, you need a lot of information. To start a business, we need support very much.  

What is one thing that you’ve taken out of this experience? What made the most impact on you? 

I did have a lot of difficulties financially in 2020 and I got [connected to] a support grant through Hacienda and that was the biggest impact. If I had not gotten that grant I could not continue, especially during this time. Finances are everything. Hacienda has the information that you need to start a business especially for immigrants and minority groups. They give a lot of information regarding financials, IDAs programs, how to save, and how to get [capital]. We have no idea where we have to start to get the information. Hacienda gives us ways to navigate it and get educated. Hacienda is my navigator.  

These last few years have been very difficult for businesses. How would things look different for you without this support? 

Without Hacienda… Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine could not survive. I am very thankful from the bottom of my heart to the Hacienda CDC organization and everyone who support Sandy's Myanmar Cuisine in Portland, Oregon.  

Click to learn more about Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine

Click to learn more about Hacienda’s Empresarios program