Combi is one of twenty Denver restaurants that just received $20,000 from DoorDash's Accelerator for Local Restaurants program, which worked in partnership with the Hispanic Restaurant Association and the Action Opportunity Fund to select grant recipients in Denver. The restaurants will also receive an eight-week training program that covers everything from creating a menu to marketing as well as free photography.
"We were really looking for restaurants that had stories of care around their communities — folks who were interested in growing their businesses, of course, but also investing in their local communities," says Elyssa White, social impact program manager with DoorDash. "That was a really big factor in how we selected these cohorts. One of the application questions asks about how they expect that the grant and the education that we provide will support their local community, and so we looked at those answers really carefully."
All of the restaurants picked for the program are run by women, immigrants and people of color; it is designed to help these groups specifically see long-term success and business growth. "We know that there are particular types of business owners who face additional barriers and challenges," White notes. "For example, we know from a wide variety of sources that Black businesses have significantly more trouble in accessing capital as compared to white businesses."
Piper Inn, which recently landed on our list of the best wings in Denver, is one of the grant recipients.
Piper Inn/Facebook
The restaurants chosen range from newcomers like La Rola Colombian Kitchen, which just opened its first brick-and-mortar location in Littleton, to longtime staples like the Piper Inn, which has been operating since 1968 (and serves some of the best wings in Denver). Other grant recipients are Nola Jane Restaurant and Bar, Las Hijas de La Chilanga, Los Molinos at Auraria, Little Dragon, Pozzetti Gelato & Coffee, Miette et Chocolat, Now Pho, Ohana Grille, Reunion Bread, Sabor Salvadoreño Restaurant, Java Stop, Sonny's Tacos, Tamales Moreno, Urban Thai and Nola Voodoo Tavern.
Flores-Muñoz says that since he started in the restaurant industry in 2018, he has signed up for every newsletter and informational bulletin available that could let him know about different support programs for restaurants.
"I have made it a priority to apply," he says. "I tell other small business owners, 'Cast a wide net; apply for as many things as possible,' because not only is right now the perfect time to be able to benefit from opportunities like this, but there are many opportunities like this available currently."
Through the program, Flores-Muñoz hopes make Combi Cafe's delivery service as seamless as possible: "What better way to do it than with a program specifically made through a company that focuses on delivery services?"
He also plans to use the $20,000 on brand building and marketing, as well as to launch a Combi Cafe cold brew that people can buy and make at home. "We’ll incorporate our horchata flavors and our cafe de olla flavors; that will be a big seller," Flores-Muñoz says. "A lot of Mexican households had cafe de olla served at the dinner table. Being able to now incorporate those flavors into a cold brew concept that is able to be made at home, I think hopefully will be a big seller."
He adds that he is grateful that there are programs helping business owners of color, women and immigrants — Flores-Muñoz immigrated to the United States from Guadalajara when he was seven and is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. "Right now, it's hard already trying to start up, being an immigrant, being a person of color," he notes. "There are a lot of disparities already, [but] we’re a vital part of the economics of our cities and of our nations."
