Nourishing the Neighborhood

NHM Online Presents L.A. Culture in a Cup, a year-long initiative celebrating the stories of the diversity of Los Angeles and its people through the lens of the beverages and their significant vessels that bring us together.

In the heart of Huntington Park, on a corner where the scent of freshly steeped jamaica (hibiscus) and sweet strawberries drifts alongside roasted coffee, Cruzita’s Deli & Cafe stands as more than just a café. It is a "third space"—a living room for the community, a gallery for local artists, and a testament to the resilience of a family whose history is told through the food they serve. Led by founders and co-owners Maricruz and Celina Lopez. Cruzita’s is a tribute to the women who came before them and a promise to the neighborhood they call home. 

Their story is a map of the L.A. immigrant experience—a journey that began with a twelve-year-old’s arrival and evolved into a radical mission to prove that "food is love."

Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County

Business for me is a tool, and it's a vehicle to create change... we’re not just a cafe shop. We’re a platform for the community to see themselves.

Celina Lopez

What was your journey to Los Angeles?

Maricruz: My journey began in Zacatecas, Mexico. I come from a lineage of people who have always known how to sustain themselves through the land; my family has generations of history in farming and distribution—raising cows, growing beans, and making cheese—and they still do that work today. I carry that heritage of survival and hard work with me.

I eventually came to the U.S. on my own in 1974 at twelve years old. I remember arriving in Hollywood, right in the middle of the multicultural rush of Sunset Boulevard. It was a world away from where I started, but I eventually found my way to Huntington Park and spent my life working in the food industry. I realized that in Los Angeles, if you really love what you do, you can build a business. Cruzita’s is the result of that—a place where I can honor the history of my family in Zacatecas while building a future here in the community I love.

Maricruz at Disneyland in the early 1980s with her sons Jose and Heric, and a family friend on the right. This period of early motherhood in Los Angeles defined her resilient drive to provide for her family and eventually build a community-centered business.

Photo courtesy of Cruzita's Deli & Cafe

Celina: I am a product of the L.A. story. I was born and raised right here in Huntington Park, just blocks from where the deli stands today. My father fled the Civil War in El Salvador, and my mother came from Mexico. Though they aren’t together anymore, that immigrant experience of working hard to build something from nothing shaped everything I believe about community and survival.

Beyond Huntington Park, a huge part of my foundation comes from the time we spent in Tijuana. We traveled there all the time because that’s where my grandmother settled after migrating from Zacatecas. For me, Tijuana represents so much of where my culture comes from; it was our primary connection to our roots and our family's history long before I ever had the chance to visit Zacatecas myself as a teenager.

How did your business come to be? 

Maricruz: I spent 35 years working in the grocery industry. I worked in big chains and even briefly owned a small produce store called "El Paraiso Produce" on State Street when Celina was a child. I was an entrepreneur by necessity—I had children to raise. Years later, after my son had gone through a long health battle and Celina had finished college, we saw a "for lease" sign on a building that had been empty for as long as I could remember. I had a vision for it, but Celina was the one who insisted it had to be a coffee shop. 

A flyer for "El Paraiso Produce," Maricruz’s former shop on State Street in Huntington Park. This early venture into bringing fresh food to the neighborhood served as Celina’s first introduction to entrepreneurship and the foundation for what would later become Cruzita’s.

Photo courtesy of Cruzita's Deli & Cafe

Celina: We were definitely naive at the start. We had to rebuild everything—the electricity, the plumbing, the whole interior. But we were determined. We wanted to take my mom’s decades of experience in the food industry and my passion for community organizing and turn them into a space that Huntington Park deserved.

What drink encompasses the spirit of your business? 

Maricruz: It has to be our agua del día (drink of the day), strawberry jamaica, which is an agua fresca (fruit-infused water). At home, I have a strict rule: no sodas. It is always water or an agua del día, made with whatever fruit is available. But this drink is more than just a refresher; for us, it is a "bomb" of health. Jamaica is a powerful antioxidant herb, and when you combine it with fresh berries, you create something that nourishes the body.

Celina: These drinks represent our philosophy that "food is medicine." When my brother was diagnosed with leukemia at age five, my mom became a researcher overnight. She stripped our kitchen of processed sugars and salts. 

Maricruz: That’s why we don’t use powders or syrups. Our aguas are made from whole, fresh fruit and raw sugar. We buy our produce from the same local farmers we’ve known for years. When you drink one of our aguas, you’re tasting the freshest ingredients possible. It’s about health, but it’s also about honoring the Earth.

How does the community come together at your business? 

Celina: For us, the business is a vehicle for change. We don’t just sell coffee; we cultivate relationships. We’ve hosted open mic nights for years to give local youth a platform to speak their truth. We’ve held fundraisers for families affected by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and local school programs.  Part of creating a "third space" is providing resources that aren't just transactional. We wanted a place where people could pick up a book, learn something new, and feel that intellectual curiosity is welcome here. It’s another way we nourish the neighborhood.

A vibrant night at Cruzita's Deli & Cafe for their 10-year anniversary open mic night, celebrating a decade of hosting old and new friends in a space dedicated to art and connection.

Photo courtesy of Cruzita's Deli & Cafe

Maricruz: We hire team members from the neighborhood—they all walk to work! For a while, we couldn't afford to hire anyone, but now we have eleven employees, which is a big deal for us. And the good thing is that they want to be part of Cruzita's—part of the dream. We wanted to create a space where our children could feel safe and build pride in their community. We treat our customers like family because, in Huntington Park, that’s how you survive. You look out for one another.

Why was it important to name the business "Cruzita’s"? 

Maricruz: The name is a tribute to my mother, Celina’s grandmother. She was a true entrepreneur in Tijuana, selling tortillas and candy from a small table to keep the family fed. She was the original "Cruzita."

Celina: Naming it after her reminds us every day of the lineage of women we come from. It’s about honoring the "invisible" labor of immigrant women who used food as a way to survive and care for their families. We are just the next generation continuing that work.

Celina: Naming the business after her reminds us every day of the lineage of women we come from. It’s about honoring the "invisible" labor of immigrant women who used food as a way to survive and care for their families. I grew up seeing that firsthand with my grandmother in Tijuana, who ran a small candy store and also sold tortillas and prepared food to get by. 

Then I watched my mom, a single mother who was always working—always, always working—in the food industry and at grocery stores. Even though she worked so much, she would always bring home these new, different fruits and vegetables for us to try; it was such a unique thing to experience. 

Cruzita’s is really a mash-up of all those lives. It’s the daily, traditional Mexican cooking I grew up with from my aunt, Alicia Castillo, mixed with the more experimental flavors and fresh produce my mom introduced us to. It’s a blend of our roots and the mixed cultures of Mexico and Los Angeles. We are just the next generation continuing that work, showing that eating fresh and healthy isn’t a luxury—it’s how the "regular Joes" like our neighbors and us have always known how to eat well.

More than just close family, Celina's aunt, Alicia Castillo, and her traditional cooking has been a major influence in her life.

Photo courtesy of Cruzita's Deli & Cafe

What does the phrase "food is love" mean to your legacy?

Maricruz: When we first opened, we chose a phrase for our shop's digital key that centered on food as love. It stuck because it’s the absolute truth of how we live. You don’t come to the table to fight; you come to nourish yourself. When you serve someone food made with intention—using whole ingredients and food as medicine—you are telling them they matter. That is the legacy we are building here: a community where every person who walks through our door feels seen and truly valued.

The family core of Cruzita’s: Celina, her brother Jose, and their mother Maricruz. Today, they work side-by-side to sustain the "food as love" mission that has anchored their family for generations.

Photo courtesy of Cruzita's Deli & Cafe

Celina: It’s about building the world we want to see. We want a world that is healthy, supportive, and rooted in culture. We’re doing that one cup at a time, right here on the corner in Huntington Park.

Mother and daughter duo Maricruz and Celina run Cruzita’s as a joint mission to prove that fresh, healthy eating is a community right, not a luxury. By serving their Huntington Park neighbors with high-quality ingredients and intention, they provide a nourishing foundation where every "regular Joe" has the opportunity to thrive.

Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County

Explore more from Cruzita’s Deli & Cafe 

Maricruz and Celina at Cruzita’s Deli & Cafe in the heart of Huntington Park. Whether you’re stopping by for a refreshing strawberry jamaica agua fresca or attending an open mic night to support local artists, you’re stepping into a community "third space" built on the legacy of immigrant resilience. 

What’s your L.A. Cup story? 

Do you know an L.A. beverage crafter who lovingly connects to your community? Do you want to share your favorite experience at Cruzita’s Deli & Cafe? Join the conversation by tagging @NHMLA, and your story could be featured next!