Coffee shop Cafe Aficionado in Northridge supports small businesses with community pop-up events
Cafe Aficionado owners Reggie and Abby Cua host pop-up events near their storefront and invite businesses to set up their shops.
NORTHRIDGE, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Coffee shop Cafe Aficionado in Northridge is owned by Reggie Cua and his wife Abby.
"Expect to be welcomed, we're a very welcoming coffee shop. Our business model is for the community and also the vendors that we work with. We try to support local," Reggie Cua said.
Cua says two to three times a month he hosts a pop-up event here where he invites the community and other local vendors to set up their shops.
"The pop-up started when one of our good friends that had a coffee shop, Ninong's, right behind Northridge mall, had decided that they were going to close their doors," Cua said. "We said, 'You guys should sell some of the food you were selling at the restaurant and do a pop-up in our parking lot.' So, that was initially our first pop-up ever."
"That first day, we had a line going all the way to the back of the parking lot and the four of us looked at each other and were like, 'This is something, let's do this for other people, let's do this for other businesses,'" said co-owner of Ninong's Dessert Lab Carissa Ortega.
Cua said it was so successful that now, a year and a half later, they've expanded to help other local businesses.
"We're happy to see people that have just popped up for the very first time with their small business with us and have grown and have expanded and now it's their livelihood," Cua said.
"Everyone is supporting small and local brands. And it's just an amazing thing that Reggie had started for everyone," said Melissa Wald, founder of Macra Made By Mel.
Cua said hosting a pop-up event is a lot of work, but he will continue to do them to support other local businesses.
"Our vision was always for the community. You know just be a place for people to gather. And if you're a vendor, just reach out to us on Instagram and we would love to cater to you and help you out," Cua said.
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