‘I’m motivated by growth’: Gisselle Poveda on the challenges of expanding her small, immigrant-owned business

Gisselle Poveda: I am a third-generation baker. 

Gisselle Poveda: This started with my family way back in the ‘70s or ‘80s with my grandpop who, um, is in heaven right now.

Gisselle Poveda is the owner of Cafe Tinto. It’s a Colombian bakery in North Philadelphia that uses recipes her grandfather crafted in Colombia decades ago.

Gisselle Poveda: He started baking at home and then he got a little location, and then he had all his kids be part of his help.

Gisselle didn’t get to see much of her grandfather when she was young because he was very sick, but she heard plenty of stories about him and his pastries. His pandebonos — airy Colombian cheese bread — and his arepas — golden corn patties. Gisselle’s father carried these recipes with him to Philadelphia when the family immigrated to the US in 2002.

Gisselle Poveda: And the first thing you know that an immigrant does when they go over to another country is they have to fall back on their skills, right? And my dad’s like, “OK, what do I know how to do? Oh, OK I know how to be a mechanic. And oh, I also know how to bake.”

She remembers like it was yesterday. Her father called a family meeting in their living room. He told them…

Gisselle Poveda: “There’s an opportunity for us to have a bakery, but it’s gonna be a lot of work. We’re gonna do this as a family, otherwise it can’t be done.” 

Gisselle was 16 at the time but she — and her mother and sister — didn’t hesitate. They  promised to put their all into the bakery. Her parents worked early mornings, separating dough to make the perfect pastries. Gisselle and her sister worked in the bakery after school, on the weekends and during the summer.

Gisselle Poveda: I worked in it from day one, and then at some point, you know, I was able to see that I could potentially make this my baby, and I could potentially make it better.

Cafe Tinto hired more staff outside of their immediate family and became a staple in their neighborhood. Six years later, Gisselle became the owner of Cafe Tinto and gave her parents a chance to retire. It’s been a steady family business. But Gisselle has ideas for how to keep growing. She’s thinking about opening a second location and about developing her own coffee brand, but she is cautious.

Gisselle Poveda: I’m motivated by growth, but I want to do it in, um, healthy manner.  And I don’t wanna have to be stressing and going crazy because I have a loan that I have to pay off. And because I have… I think about these things, and I’m sure I’m not the only entrepreneur that thinks of this.

# # #

I’m Nichole Currie, and this is Thriving, an audio documentary about our economic future together. I’ve been following 10 Philadelphians for a year to learn what it takes to make it in America. After a pandemic and so much social upheaval, what are the obstacles and opportunities we all face to economically thrive in the United States? Each person we’re following tells us something different about our collective future. 

In this episode: Immigrant entrepreneurs. 

We’re following Gisselle Poveda, a 35-year-old immigrant entrepreneur who wants to grow her family’s bakery without putting the business at risk.

Immigrants start a lot of businesses. In 2020, immigrants in the US started businesses at nearly double the rate of people born here. And they create 42% more jobs than companies started by US-born founders. So much of the American identity stems from immigrant businesses, so it’s important to understand what barriers and obstacles stand in their way of succeeding. 

Gisselle Poveda: I’m definitely a purebred entrepreneur. 

Gisselle Poveda is a go-getter — always thinking about the next big thing, the next goal for her bakery. 

Gisselle Poveda: Like it’s just in my blood. 

Right now — in the summer of 2022 — Cafe Tinto is busy. It’s in North Philadelphia, at the corner of Wyoming Avenue and A Street.

Gisselle Poveda: Hi, so welcome to Cafe Tinto. This is our store, our beloved space, in which we share our culture… 

It’s your perfect take-out, mom-and-pop bakery, small and quaint. There’s no room for tables or chairs, just enough space for a long line of locals and regulars. Across from that line is a glass display case of pastries. Almost all of them are made with cheese. They have items like queso croissants, baked and fried Colombian cheese bread, and loaves of freshly baked bread. 

Gisselle Poveda: And then this is where the real magic happens. This is our kitchen…

And back in the kitchen, Cafe Tinto staff are preparing hot meals like breakfast sandwiches of egg and chorizo. Gisselle says the store makes about $40,000 a month in gross sales.

Gisselle Poveda: Everything we make from scratch.

Gisselle Poveda: I want people to know Colombia for its coffee. I want people to know Colombia for its food. And I want people to know Colombia for our kindness. And so those are the three main pillars of Cafe Tinto. We want to share our Colombian culture.

# # #

There is coffee on the menu, but it’s not up to Gisselle’s standards — yet.

Gisselle Poveda: So if you ask me what my immediate goal would be in that three- to six-month span is for me to materialize my coffee brand. 

She wants to import coffee straight from Colombia, and roast it in her store.

Gisselle Poveda: This is not just an entrepreneurial move. It’s actually my, it’s one of my passions. Coffee. Like, I am a coffee drinker. I love coffee. I wake up, I drink coffee, I go to bed. I drink coffee. I drink coffee, coffee, coffee. I love the taste. It reminds me of my back home, you know, Colombia, it reminds me of everything.

Colombia is famous for having some of the best coffee in the world. It’s the third largest coffee-producing country, after Brazil and Vietnam. The export is considered a source of national pride. But developing a coffee brand will have a lot of upfront cost. On average, it can cost between $5,000 to $10,000. And it’s even more expensive if you pay a middle-man to roast the coffee for you. Gisselle has been meeting with roasters all summer and talking to coffee farms back in Colombia to try and figure out the least expensive process. 

Gisselle Poveda: I’ve looked at the supply chain, right? And I’m like, OK, where do I fall in and who do I talk to? You know what I mean? Like who do I talk to? OK, let me check this out. How does this work? And then, OK, coffee roaster…

Roasting coffee in-house for a large number of customers requires expensive machinery that takes up a lot of space. Gisselle says right now Cafe Tinto doesn’t have the money or the room. It’s one reason she’s thinking about a second location. 

But for now, to get her coffee brand off the ground, she’ll have to pay for a middle-man coffee roaster. 

Gisselle Poveda: Which of course is gonna put a markup on the product. And so it’s more expensive for me. 

Nichole Currie: So do you feel like you are, like, financially stable to make these steps? 

Gisselle Poveda: Yeah. And I tell you why. And this is something very important for people to know and hear and understand and maybe even pick up on: I live below my means. I live in a 300-square-foot apartment, like, literally, like, a studio. I don’t have the amenities that, like, most people. Just because you own a business, right? A lot of people think, like, ‘Oh, like, you know, you got it or whatever.’ No. Like I try to really, really live below my means. I’d rather go to sleep. In a small, tiny place knowing that I’m financially stable because I’ve made the right decisions to not overspend, you know, not let my wants take over me. ‘Cuz who doesn’t want a brand new car? Honestly, like I am dying to get a Tesla. 

Gisselle hopes that holding off on these wants will bring her closer to developing a coffee brand and one day, roasting it inside of a Cafe Tinto location. But for right now, she has to first get it off of the ground. For the rest of the summer, Gisselle will search for a farm in Colombia to be her supplier. And at the same time, she will try to identify a local business that can roast the coffee beans for her.

# # #

CHRIS:  Giselle Poveda’s story is super representative of the immigrant experience.

That’s Chris Wink. He’s a journalist who founded and still leads Technical.ly. For the Thriving project, Chris has combed through spreadsheets full of demographic data and talked with dozens of Philadelphians over the past few years. He says people like Gisselle have a large presence in our country’s economy. 

CHRIS: But just like all entrepreneurs, they have a high likelihood of never making it out.

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. In fact, when Technical.ly talked to immigrant entrepreneurs in Philadelphia for this project, they found a stark divide: some people successfully created companies worth millions, billions. And…

CHRIS: We also find immigrant entrepreneurs working near poverty wages, running commercial storefronts in economically depressed neighborhoods.

Gisselle’s bakery is in North Philadelphia. It’s surrounded by many Latinx communities and businesses. But she wants people outside of her community to know the culture of Cafe Tinto, too. Which Chris says can be beneficial. 

CHRIS: If you wanna grow, you eventually have to sell outside of that community. She could stay small and be a purveyor of, of a, a community niche, you know, a product from her own home territory. She could find an innovation and grow that brand to be national or global. Giselle’s in that moment of what kind of business will this be?

But taking that next step towards growth can be stressful, risky, and expensive. Gisselle watched and helped her parents take Colombian recipes to a new country, and turn it into a business. Even though she is set on growing Cafe Tinto, she doesn’t want to lose it in the process. 

CHRIS: That second-time founder or someone who’s taking over a an existing family owned business feels a great debt of responsibility for that which has come before. And feeling the reputational risk of what if I’m the klutz who messes this thing up? Of course, that’s daunting.

Gisselle Poveda: Hey, how you doing? Good. Good to see you. 

Nichole Currie: Good to see you, too. 

Gisselle Poveda: So this is it. Huh? Are you recording now? Awesome. Yeah….

It’s early November, and I am meeting Gisselle at Love Park in Center City.

Gisselle Poveda: All right, so welcome, Nicole. What you’re seeing right now, it’s what’s going to be El Rincon Latino at the Christmas Village.

She’s talking about the annual Christmas Village held at Love Park and City Hall. The commerce department partnered with the non-profit Esperanza to find and support local Hispanic-owned vendors — and they reached out to Gisselle to offer Cafe Tinto a booth.

Gisselle Poveda: …It’s an amazing opportunity that we’ve gotten from the City of Philadelphia. 

Gisselle says it normally costs a business $15,000 to set up a booth for the entirety of the four-week festival, but for her, it won’t cost anything.

Gisselle Poveda: They wanted to make this accessible for small businesses, and they gave us the opportunity to be here rent free.

From afar, this opportunity doesn’t seem related to her coffee brand, but Gisselle sees a connection. See, once Gisselle has her coffee brand off the ground, she will eventually want to roast the beans in her bakery. But as we heard, there isn’t enough space. Her goal is to open a second Cafe Tinto — with enough space to roast coffee for both locations. But Gisselle is apprehensive about running two locations — she doesn’t know if she has the leadership skills to do it. 

Gisselle Poveda: You know, I hear this from a lot of our beautiful customers, like, “Hey, you should open a store here. You should open a store there. You should open a store here in Center City”, everywhere. I want that, but it takes time you know because I certainly cannot be at every location, right? I can’t split myself in two or even three.

So she sees this Christmas village as a trial run. 

Gisselle Poveda:  I think that the universe will always give you what you can handle. And so I think that the universe has given us the opportunity to figure out if, hey, can you handle it?

Running a booth in the Christmas Village will require her to split her time and energy for the next four weeks. Vendors can’t bake or cook at the village, so Gisselle will have to make all the pastries at the bakery and transport them to the festival, multiple times throughout the day. 

# # #

Gisselle goes to the Christmas Village with low expectations, but over the course of December, the Cafe Tinto outpost does great — selling arepas and vegetarian empanadas by the hundreds. By the end, they rack up over $30,000 worth of gross sales — three-quarters of what Cafe Tinto makes in a month. And Gisselle decides to invest the sales into her future coffee brand. By the time the Christmas village closes, Gisselle is proud, more confident in herself as a leader, and tired. 

Around Christmas, uncharacteristically, Gisselle decides to treat herself. Gisselle and her partner book a flight to Colombia for a two-week vacation. When she was supposed to be back in Philly, I call Gisselle to check in. 

No answer. I try the next week, nothing. Straight to voicemail. I do this for weeks — until finally, after two months, we connect again. 

Gisselle Poveda: God had something else for us.

A simple vacation to visit relatives had taken an unexpected turn. On New Year’s Day, she spoke with a few family members. 

Gisselle Poveda: One of those family members said, “Hey, so what’s up? How is business? What’s going on back home? How is everything?” And we told them everything and that person happened to ask me. “So what’s your bigger, what’s your dream, like, what’s your goal?” You know, it’s the beginning of 2023. You know, all of us are speaking of our goals so I said, “My goal is to have at some point, have my own coffee brand, you know, have my own coffee, like something freshly roasted and something that comes from here.” And that person said, “I think I can help you.” And I said, “what do you mean?”  He says, “Yeah, I have a coffee farm.”

This person produces specialty coffee. 

Gisselle Poveda: When you look at the coffee pyramid, like, Colombian-exported Colombian coffee is like the basics of great coffee. It’s still good coffee, great coffee. But if you now are gonna go into the specialty realm of coffee, then what makes it special is a few things. One is the time in which they collect the beans.

They only select beans that are perfectly ripe. 

Gisselle Poveda: So it’s good to note that every Colombian coffee bean is handpicked. We don’t use machines, we’re not commercialized in that way. And what makes Colombian coffee great is the fact that we handpick still, and by you handpicking coffee, you control the quality of the coffee. ‘Cuz when you’re shaking trees, green beans are coming down, red beans are coming down, right? So, every bean is coming down. When you hand pick the coffee, you’re selecting only the coffee bean that is ready to be produced.

Gisselle decided to stay in Colombia longer to see this process up close. 

Gisselle Poveda: And so we traveled to the coffee region to spend some time. I think a week or two at this location and we tried the coffee. And the coffee is amazing. 

Gisselle was sold — and most importantly, she had the money to really invest in the idea, thanks to the sales she made at the Christmas Village. She bought three coffee qualities for Cafe Tinto: speciality, premium, and boutique. Speciality being the highest quality of all. 

# # #

Gisselle finally returns to Philadelphia, and in March of 2023, her coffee brand is already in full swing. Her 300-square-foot studio is packed with pink aluminum bags that read Cafe Tinto. Each bag is filled with roasted coffee beans. It’s her second shipment. The first shipment of coffee is currently being sold in the store. 

Gisselle Poveda: So our coffee’s literally fresh all the time. I love that. I love that, for sure. 

Nichole Currie: And how are the customers, uh… 

Gisselle Poveda: Loving it. I mean, we did take on like, uh, a larger expense by changing our coffee.

The price for a cup has gone up 20 cents across the board. 

Gisselle Poveda: But now I’m obviously, um, offering a specialty coffee and the price with that, of course, increases. But I don’t think that people have noticed, and some have, you know, a lot of people just go about their day, coffee, milk, sugar, let’s go.

Gisselle also plans to ship her coffee through an online store. She’s building a website to do that. She is going to sell coffee by the pound and through bundles of self-serving coffee pouches. Like tea bags, but with coffee grinds inside. She prepares one for me, with an electric kettle.

Gisselle Poveda: And so the way this works is this will open up, you’ll hang this over a cup. And then you’ll brew the coffee right on your cup.

She pours the hot water over the fresh coffee grounds and waits for the bubbles to settle.

Gisselle Poveda: I’m becoming nerdy now with my coffee, so I want my water temperature to be right on point, which is 200 Fahrenheit. And so I got this…

# # #

When I met Giselle last year, she was determined to bring her coffee brand to life. And with her work ethic and help from the City of Philadelphia, it came into fruition. For now Gisselle can sit, relax, and have a sip of her own coffee. Well — not for too long. 

Gisselle Poveda: I’d like to open a second location. Be able to now have two stores that will allow Cafe Tinto to have the cash flow to buy a real estate property.

For Thriving, I’m Nichole Currie. 

Thriving is brought to you by Technical.ly and Rowhome Productions with support from the William Penn Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts and the Knight Foundation. 

Learn more about Thriving at technical.ly

Thriving’s executive producer is Technical.ly CEO Christopher Wink.

The series is reported, produced, and hosted by me, Nichole Currie. 

Our story editor is Jen Kinney. Managing producer is Alex Lewis. Mix and sound design by John Myers. 

Special thanks to Technical.ly editors Christina Kristofic, Sameer Rao, and Julie Zeglen. 

This episode features music from Blue Dot Sessions and Philippe Bronchtein. 

Our theme music is by Flat Mary Road. 

Thanks for listening.