Today we’d like to introduce you to Erick Benitez.
Hi Erick, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It all started at the age of 16, when I used to be in High school, living with a family of 7 me and my brothers started working part time jobs after school and after doing sports to help with bills around the house, food amd clothing. My first job was at a Japanese restaurant where I started as a busser and dishwasher then work my way up to a server. Later on I started working at other restaurants and started developing learning different areas of the restaurant industry and little by little I started growing a passion for the food and beverage industry. Learn serving, bartending and managing all areas of the business. 6 years ago I got the opportunity to manage a small business that worked with Mexican food and specialty coffee and there is where my passion to actually start something on my own sparked. Coffee and food have always been passion, but I wanted to bring something to the community that represented good food and good coffee and specifically my Faith in what I believe. There is where the idea of Leche y Miel Cafe was born, an inspiration from the book of Exodus 3:8.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road has not been easy, but by Gods grace we have made it this far. There have been many challenges that rose in my journey of becoming a business owner. For one I am not someone who came from money, I grew up in a low income household, so this means that I was limited in funds or in the access I had to them. Then pair that with the fact that I was just so green in starting a business, that I underestimated the time and resources it would take to start an endeavor like this. I knew how the operational parts of running a restaurant, I had just about every imaginable in the food and beverage industry, but starting a business from scratch was not one of those things that I had ever taken a part of so I had a lot to learn.
We’ve been impressed with Leche Y Miel, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Leche Y Miel café is a coffee shop in Mesquite. It was born out of the desire to tell the story of my life; how God saved it and to share my passion of coffee and good Mexican food. We are a coffee shop that is bringing specialty coffee specifically from Mexico, Central, and South America. Leche Y Miel also prides itself in the fact that we make most of our recipes in house, this includes food items like our chilaquile’s salsa, our coffee syrups and many other things. We are also a coffee shop that roasts its coffee in house, because we want to have an awareness #1 that the coffee is going to be quality coffee, but also just as importantly #2 that it is coffee that is ethically sourced. We are most proud of the fact that through our business we are able to share our faith, we are very proud of the in house roasting, the in house syrups, etc but above it all knowing Christ is being glorified through Leche Y Miel is the best thing our brand can do.
What were you like growing up?
I was inquisitive as a child, almost to the point of annoyance, much to my parents dismay. However this allowed to learn many things, especially things that caught my interest. However the more I grew the more shy I became, this became apparent in my first job at 16 as a bus boy. I remember a table tried to speak to me, and I ran away. Looking back at it now, I am not sure why I was like this, but I do know that working in the food and beverage industry helped me come out of my shell, and be more social, which was a huge challenge in my teenage years.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lecheymielcafe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lecheymielcafe_/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61583616231511
