Delia Flores came to Utah 15 years ago from the Mexican state of Puebla. In 2021, while frustrated with her boss at the restaurant where she worked, she saw a space for rent.
She left work that day feeling “annoyed, angry, maybe even crying,” Flores recalled in her native Spanish. “And I came down this street and saw the place for rent, and I talked to the person who was renting it, and they told me it was available.”
Now she is the owner of Antojitos Chepe, a snack bar in South Ogden. Antojitos means little snacks or cravings, and Chepe is a nickname for José, her husband’s name. She serves the fruit salads and shaved ice typical to her home state to a mix of Mexican and non-Mexican customers.
“I didn’t picture myself being the owner of anything. It was spontaneous.”
Across the country, Latino immigrants like Flores are starting businesses faster than the general population. But in Utah, where 15% of the population is Hispanic, just 7.4% of businesses are Hispanic-owned.
Weber State University wondered how they could “help increase that number so that Hispanic and Latino entrepreneurs are reflecting that true number of Utah's demographics,” said spokesperson Bryan Magaña.
The answer was inspired by similar programs at Miami Dade College and Davenport University. This fall, Weber State launched an online entrepreneurship certificate program with courses taught entirely in Spanish. Called Building Puentes, or bridges, it’s part of growing efforts around the state and the country to support Hispanic entrepreneurs.
Flores said the hardest part of creating Antojitos Chepe was getting started with very little money. The language barrier between her and her customers can also be difficult. When English-speaking customers come in, Flores said she can get nervous.
“I try to focus on what they’re going to order, or try to explain things to them,” she said. Some menu items are listed in English, and they all have pictures.
Another challenge is accessing accurate information, said Juan Pascua, executive director of the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
“Many times, they are receiving some information from the friend or the neighbor or whatever, but not from the correct source,” he said.
As she worked to open her shop, Flores found out about Suazo Business Center, a nonprofit founded in 2002 that supports small business owners with a focus on those who are Hispanic or Latino. Suazo provided her with a startup loan and mentorship, teaching her things like how to get permission from the city to operate and file taxes.
Flores’ challenges demonstrate a real need. Magaña said the announcement of Building Puentes spurred a lot of enthusiasm.
“I was getting phone calls, I was getting emails, and these were from the community, saying, I want to participate” as both students and teachers, he said.
The program is supported by a $2.5 million grant from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, said Magaña. There’s only one class this fall, but they plan to offer three next semester. Students will earn a certificate of entrepreneurship when they complete the curriculum, and they can put those credits toward an associate’s or bachelor’s degree. As the program grows, the hope is to also offer degrees.
Tuition for Building Puentes is $299 per credit. That comes to $2,990 for the 10-credit certificate before financial aid and scholarships.
Almost a quarter of small businesses in Utah fail in their first year. Pascua said he knows many entrepreneurs whose businesses closed within months and thinks they could have benefited from formal instruction.
“My question was, why? Do you have a project? Do you have a projection of the first two or three years, do you have a business plan? And they didn't have anything,” he said.
Pascua said that many immigrants know how to run a business in their country of origin, but in the U.S., they sometimes “don’t know about a specific rule” and face other administrative challenges.
That’s why the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is working on reviving its business academy, noted Pascua. Before the pandemic, it offered classes around the state and online.
When Hispanic business owners “have more options, they have more opportunities to learn, it’s better for our community,” said Pascua.
The Utah Small Business Development Center, supported by the U.S. Small Business Administration, also offers some workshops in Spanish.
Three students are enrolled in Building Puentes’ inaugural startup innovations class, but Magaña noted that the program is set to expand over the next five years. As it grows, it will require English classes as a co-requisite.
“What we're trying to do is build a really strong bilingual workforce for Utah,” he said.
Growing up, Flores recalled, her dad was a hard worker who told her that nothing was impossible. Now, as she serves up street corn and shaved ice that her mother taught her to make, she hopes to expand Antojitos Chepe into a taco shop. Her advice for other immigrant entrepreneurs? Work and save up.
“It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible, either,” she said.
Macy Lipkin is a Report for America corps member who reports for KUER in northern Utah.
