Layoffs became a chance for a reset.
For Jesus Hernandez, Kevin Pacheco, Ryan Pizarro, Ryan Kim, and Brian “Franco” Vazquez, the abrupt closure of their workplace became the beginning of something they would build themselves.
On November 1, the five second-generation partners opened Dura Coffee on Beverly Boulevard in LA, only about three blocks from the Starbucks at Beverly Boulevard and Detroit Street, where they all previously worked until it was shut down in September. The group had already been discussing a mobile café, but losing their jobs turned talk into action.
Kim said the idea formed quickly after the layoffs: “We wanted to continue what we built, but under our own effort.” Their connection, however, goes back much further — each member grew up in LA, and the group bonded years earlier through a high school basketball club…