From coffee, flowers and legal representation, Alamance County’s Hispanic and Latine-owned businesses provide safe spaces for Latines to feel understood and respected.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanic and Latine people make up almost 17% of the Alamance County population. However, Hispanics own just over 9% of small businesses in North Carolina, according to the U.S. Small Business Association.

Small business owners in Alamance County work to lessen that gap by encouraging Hispanic and Latine aspiring business owners to follow their passions.

The Blend Burlington

Lucero Marti said she didn’t choose Burlington, it chose her. She met her now-husband in 2018 at a work conference and officially relocated from Texas to Alamance County in 2019.

“When I moved to Burlington and I visited The Blend for the first time, I just fell in love,” Marti said. “And I said, ‘God, I wish I’d own this place one day.’”

Seven years later, that dream became a reality. The Blend coffee shop features signs with the shop’s core values, which spell “blend”: belonging, local love, excellence, nurture and dedication.

“I love my community,” Marti said. “I love every guest that walks in here. I connect with everyone. Nobody is indifferent to us, and that’s what we’re building here, a community hub.”

Marti said when she first moved to Burlington, she experienced racism and discrimination for being Hispanic. Despite knowing already first-hand what it feels like to be marginalized, she described being a Hispanic business owner as challenging.

She said she never wants anyone to feel the same way and works to help her Hispanic and Latine patrons feel valued and seen.

“The moment people realize that they will come here and not feel uncomfortable because of the barrier of the language, because of who they are, their skin — and I’m talking about everyone in general — there is a place for them at The Blend,” Marti said.

Marti said service to her community drives her to continue through hardships. Before owning The Blend, Marti worked as a full-time interpreter and felt that serving people was her purpose.

In addition to coffee, The Blend also supports local small business owners by selling their products on display shelves and at the end of the checkout line. Marti said maintaining close relationships with her community and customers is at the core of her personal mission.

“Here, not only are you serving, but you’re learning culture, you’re learning people, you help people be seen, and that’s what The Blend means to me,” Marti said. “It’s just this tiny little place that people can call home.”

Floreria Silvia’s

Silvia Alas opened her floral arrangement shop, Floreria Silvia’s, just days before the COVID-19 pandemic. She said she had always loved making centerpieces for baby showers held at her church.

“One day, a sister at church told me my work was beautiful and asked why I didn’t start making fresh flower arrangements,” Alas said. “That’s how it all began.”

Now, Floreria Silvia’s makes arrangements using fresh flowers, artificial flowers and ribbons for all occasions. On busy days, up to 15 people — mainly Alas’ family members — are out delivering floral arrangements.

Alas said her work has also gained popularity on TikTok and even attracted customers from outside the state and country.

“Sometimes, I am surprised that they would travel that far for one of my arrangements,” Alas said. “I ask them, ‘Wow, aren’t there flower shops where you live?’ and they say, ‘Yes, but they don’t do the same kind of work you do.’”

Alas was born in El Salvador and moved to Virginia when she was 11. She has now been in North Carolina for 20 years and said Alamance County feels like home because she is able to communicate more often in Spanish.

When Floreria Silvia’s first opened, Alas said it was the only Hispanic-owned business that she knew of. Now, she works to encourage the young women on her TikTok page who feel discouraged from pursuing their own businesses.

“It makes me proud to own a Hispanic business since it can be more difficult for Hispanics to have businesses,” Alas said. “Many women tell me that I am an example to them because they are now starting businesses of their own. So, it feels very rewarding to know that I can be an example for others.”

The business has also helped Alas connect to the local Hispanic community through donations, including floral arrangements on Mother’s Day and backpacks during the back-to-school season.

But Alas’ favorite part of the business comes back to design and creativity.

“I can do what I dream of doing,” Alas said. “If I come up with a design, I am the owner, so I make it. It doesn’t matter if it’s small or large. I make everything with care for my customers.”

The Law Offices of Joseph J. Garcia, PLLC

Jay Garcia describes himself as a regular guy from the southside of Winston-Salem who “got lucky” and went to law school. He credits his Mexican heritage for his hospitality skills and desire to treat everyone — even new clients — as family.

“I take where I’m from and how I was raised, and I mean, it’s just a suit that I put on and I talk to the clientele,” Garcia said. “That’s kind of what separates me.”

The Law Offices of Joseph J. Garcia is a small law firm based in Graham that specializes in criminal juvenile litigation and family law. Garcia said he was drawn to Alamance County due to the shortage in Latine attorneys, especially those with a deep understanding of Hispanic culture.

“You can tell who’s from the community and who’s not from the community by how they talk, how they carry themselves, their political and religious beliefs,” Garcia said. “That kind of translates into society, our friends and even our businesses.”

Garcia quoted one of his good friends, fellow lawyer Frederick Serrano-Jimenez, by summarizing how he approaches connecting with the local Hispanic community.

"You can speak the language, but can you speak the culture?" Garcia said. 

Garcia said he sees some clients who only speak Spanish and had previously met with lawyers who spoke the language but couldn’t relate to certain cultural norms and behaviors.

“Are they speaking where you’re from? Do you trust them?” Garcia said. “Oftentimes, whenever you put a comparison between some of these Latino clients that would go talk to these other lawyers, and then they come talk to me, they’re like, ‘Oh, nah, I like you better. I feel like you’re my nephew that I’m talking to, or I feel like you’re my cousin, or I feel like you’re my grandson.’”

To make clients feel as comfortable as possible, Garcia said he often offers alcohol and snacks in his office. He said being a business owner and his own boss allows for more freedom in fostering trust between himself and a client.

Garcia also emphasized that when people call his number, they speak directly to him rather than a receptionist. Similarly, he represents all his clients in court instead of sending an associate.

Gaby Maldonado contributed to the reporting of this story.