El Pollo Loco, a restaurant chain specializing in Mexican-style grilled chicken, has launched a new grant program to bolster Latina-owned small businesses in Los Angeles.
The company announced the program in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which this year has taken on a special resonance as Latinx-owned businesses struggle to stay open amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"Usually Hispanic Heritage Month is a time for celebration, but this year we felt it was a time for reflection. But more importantly a time for action," Bernard Acoca, president and CEO of El Pollo Loco, told Cheddar.
Two-thirds of Latinx-owned businesses are saying "they will have to cease operations given the current economic environment today," he added. "Quite honestly, we couldn't let this stand."
So now El Pollo Loco is offering $100,000 grants to 10 Latina-owned small businesses, with hopes of driving additional business and fundraising to these companies.
"El Pollo is funding the first $100,000 as part of this grant program, but we really want to encourage the general public to join us," said Acoca, who directed those interested in supporting the businesses visit the company's GoFundMe page.
For every $10,000 it raises, he added, El Pollo Loco can save another Latina-run business.
In addition to the grants, El Pollo Loco partnered with small business aggregator #WeAllGrow Latina to develop the first Latina-owned business directory and offer mentorship services to companies struggling to adapt to the COVID era.
"So many of them have been challenged in having to kind of adapt their business to a new way of operating, certainly in Los Angeles where so much of the economy has been shut down by the pandemic," Acoca said.
To that end, El Pollo Loco itself has been thriving amid the pandemic, introducing a new line of "L.A. Mex Burritos" inspired by the company's hometown.
YouTube will offer creators a way to rejoin the streaming platform if they were banned for violating COVID-19 and election misinformation policies that are no longer in effect.
Lukas Alpert of MarketWatch explores how networks, brands, and ad buyers absorb the shockwaves when late‑night show hosts are suddenly cut — and brought back.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Scott Trench, host of the BiggerPockets Money Podcast, explores how recent rate cuts, high borrowing costs, and mortgage rates are reshaping U.S. real estate.
A look into how disruption, AI, and global economic trends are transforming the modern supply chain with Jeremy Jansen, Head of Supply Chain at Wells Fargo.
