Salsas Locas: A Latina-Owned Restaurant with Good Food and a Big Heart

From 7-year-old migrant farm worker to successful food entrepreneur: Meet Lucy De Leon

Nestled in the buzzing streets of Southeast Portland, Oregon sits a charming Mexican eatery called Salsas Locas. Vibrant murals cover the outdoor patio area, the smell of corn tortillas spill out of the open-air kitchen, and a lunchtime line of hungry Portlanders forms at the counter.

While the menu includes a myriad of tacos, tamales, and burritos, Salsas Locas’s specialty is their pork and cactus guisado, a type of Mexican stew. These recipes have been passed down generations, landing in the hands of Lucy De Leon, founder and owner of Salsas Locas.

Purchasing a Commercial Building Space to Battle Rising Rent Costs

After 23 years of operating Salsas Locas in a rental space, Lucy started looking into purchasing their own commercial space due to rising rental costs. “Every year our rent costs would go up and up,” says Lucy. “Especially in these difficult times, any rise of rent really hurts a small business.”

After searching for the perfect space for quite some time, a property on 28th Avenue that was fully equipped with a large commercial kitchen hit the market – exactly what Lucy had been searching for. She moved quickly and beat out other developer bids that planned to demolish the building and replace it with apartments.

Lucy’s next hurdle: the financing.

How an SBA Loan Made Entrepreneurship More Affordable for Lucy

After an unsuccessful attempt to secure financing through her bank, Lucy reached out to Beneficial State Bank, where she was able to get an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan for the property.

“It can be intimidating when it’s your first rodeo,” says Lucy about the purchase of her first commercial space. “[Beneficial State Bank] did tremendous work to help me get through the loan, getting my financials ready, forecasting, and budgeting. We decided to do an SBA loan because there were more benefits, like how much you need to put down and the lower interest rates. Our monthly payment went down by half.” Thanks to that cost savings, Lucy was able to open a second business called La Patroncita.

SBA loans are offered by some banks and are partially guaranteed by the U.S. government. They are a great option for small businesses that are looking to expand or make large purchases such as equipment or commercial property. SBA loans can be a lifesaver for small businesses due to their lower down payment requirements and longer loan terms.

Michelle Lamb, Beneficial State Bank’s Relationship Manager who worked with Lucy, recognizes the vital role accessible funding can play in our communities. “SBA loans empower me as a lender to provide more opportunities to clients like Salsas Locas, championing Latina entrepreneurs and fostering community growth,” says Michelle. “Working with Lucy, a dynamic multigenerational Latina business owner, has been a great experience. Assisting her in securing the space needed to expand her thriving and delicious food business has been a treat.”

Today, the location on 28th Avenue serves as Lucy’s central food hub, allowing her to expand her products and services and grow the business.

Keeping Her Heritage Alive by Making Authentic Mexican Food More Accessible

“It’s been one of the biggest blessings of my life, owning this,” explains Lucy. What started as a seed within her mother's home kitchen has now blossomed into a successful business, led by Lucy’s unique and altruistic vision for what a business can do for a community.

In addition to providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Salsas Locas, making wholesale items for stores like Whole Foods and New Seasons, and catering events, Lucy and her team also provide tamales and enchiladas to schools throughout Oregon. “Growing up, I always wanted to see tamales in school cafeterias, and that wasn’t an option,” she says. “So, I made it one of my goals – to bring authentic Mexican cuisine to school lunches, and in 2019 I was able to fulfill that dream.”

Adopting her parents’ compassionate ambition to feed their community, particularly those with fewer resources, Lucy makes it a priority to take any excess food to local nonprofits and food pantries.

Lucy’s Advice for Becoming an Empowered Female Small Business Owner

Recognizing that she herself was once someone with a big dream and uncertainties about how to make it a reality, Lucy makes it a priority to empower other women interested in entrepreneurship. Around 80% of her team is Latina, and many are single mothers.

“As women, our tasks tend to be so much more – we are moms, we take care of the house, we work,” says Lucy. “We are always on call. But we can do anything that men can do. With hard work and determination, you will see it succeed. But never forget where you came from.”

For women who aspire to start a business of their own, Lucy recommends asking for advice from a trusted mentor and to persevere in the face of failure, leveraging it as an opportunity to learn and grow. These were a few of the ingredients that helped Lucy build a solid foundation for Salsas Locas, and she hopes other women take that same leap of faith toward their big dreams, too.