South Bay Fb group celebrates 4 years of supporting native companies

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A Fb group created firstly of the pandemic is now celebrating its fourth anniversary and has reworked right into a assist system for small companies within the South Bay.

Katia Callahan created the group 4 years in the past at this time. The group is known as “Eastlake Meals to Go!” and was opened simply because the world was shutting down firstly of the pandemic.

The group was meant to assist native eating places so folks might share who was open or closed or doing takeout or supply. It grew to become a spot to maintain one another knowledgeable as they navigated a back-and-forth of shutdowns and reopenings.

“So, it was simply changing into extra informative: This restaurant is open, this place is open, now we’re opening from this time to this time,” stated Callahan.

4 years later, the group grew exponentially, from about ten members to shut to 25,000.

On Wednesday, members of the group celebrated its four-year anniversary at El Pollo Grill, one other standard South Bay staple.

When pandemic restrictions have been lifted for good, group members voted to maintain it open, reworking it into a spot the place enterprise homeowners can promote their companies.

A kind of enterprise homeowners is Christina Nieto, who, with Katia’s encouragement, took the leap and began her catering enterprise, Tacos Varios La Rosa.

“It simply type of gave me that huge push to simply do what I wanted to do to get my household forward to start out my enterprise,” Nieto stated.

Nieto’s enterprise is booming; she says 60% to 70% of her catering jobs come from the group.

One other enterprise proprietor who makes use of the group is Diana Tapiz of Tres Fuegos Cocina. She was the primary enterprise within the county acknowledged as a house kitchen.

The group members went to the board of supervisors to talk in assist of the house kitchen program, which was first a pilot program after which made everlasting earlier this 12 months.

Callahan is proud that the group remains to be going robust. It helps small enterprise homeowners, holds neighborhood fundraisers and even plans a dream quinceanera for a teen preventing terminal mind most cancers.

If you would like to hitch the group, click on right here.