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Vitamina Carlos Jiménez Cárdenas Written by David Ma Photography by Daniel Garcia
NO FEAR: THE FRUITFUL OFFERINGS OF VITAMINA JUICES & BLENDS Vitaminajuices.com instagram: vitaminajb
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arlos Jiménez Cárdenas, along with his wife, Montserrat Ayala, founded one of the South Bay’s most striking new ventures, Vitamina Juices & Blends. “We stumbled upon SoFa Market by accident after going to a play at MACLA,” he recalls. Though Vitamina has been open less than two years, the pair have built a colorful reputation anchored by their passion for freshness—fresh fruit, fresh juices, fresh ingredients, and perhaps most importantly, fresh ideas. “Back then, SoFA Market was mostly empty, yet we immediately saw that it’d be a great location,” says Cárdenas. “We love that the market’s owners and employees are mostly people of color. The current political discourse often focuses on immigrants as a problem, as being undesirable. But the diverse community adds so much flavor and life to San Jose, downtown in general, the SoFa district in particular.” With Vitamina, the couple are adding to that flavor and playing a role also in the local economy. The reception has been enormously positive, in part perhaps because downtown has never seen a concept as familiar, yet so deliberately different, as Vitamina’s. “We are venturing into a type of food that has not yet fully taken off in Silicon Valley,” Cárdenas explains. “You go to LA, New York, San Francisco, or other cities and people are used to businesses like ours. So we are, in a way, part of the founding wave of local businesses trying to establish this concept here.” It’s incredibly brave and forward thinking
to venture into business, especially when the concept hasn’t completely taken shape in an area in which you operate. It’s even more courageous to embark on something you’ve never before had a hand in. While most restaurants pick a comfortable concept or expand on an existing one, Vitamina’s owners had nothing to build on, no previous training, no experience. Yet the duo has shown that passion, smarts, and drive can more than compensate for the lack of background. “Everything has been new to us,” laughs Cárdenas. “Our business has been growing slowly from an idea that sprang from a conversation at our home, to our time in the farmers’ market, to having our first storefront in SoFa Market.” But while Cardenas’ natural business acumen has proved invaluable, Vitamina’s success is not built on vision and merit alone. Paramount also has been the assistance of others and the support of the community. “Being an entrepreneur is not for everyone,” Cárdenas acknowledges. “It takes having a vision and having the courage and determination to see it through. Also, it is important to find support, mentors, and other people who can help you along the way. We would be lying if we said we did it all on our own. So talk about your dream, get excited, share that enthusiasm, and people will be touched and find ways to support you.” Of course, in addition to dreaming big and going in wide-eyed, having an incredibly rich ethnic background decidedly
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