From our Migration Issue: Let the Right Ones In

New Orleans is transforming from a stagnant backwater struggling with white flight, brain drain, and urban blight—not to mention two hurricanes, an oil spill, and a recession—into a city where the number of people starting businesses is 28 percent higher than the national average. Tax credits have brought in video game, bioscience, and tech companies, diversifying an economy long dependent on tourism, shipping, and oil. The city’s $600 million film scene ranks right behind Los Angeles and New York City. Business leaders and economic developers are hustling to rebrand New Orleans as a destination for the young and creative, talking up its reputation for small business, great food, and unique music.

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How long has that pile of ratty clothes and old shoes been sitting in the corner? If you haven’t missed it the last five years, odds are you won’t be looking for it this summer. 

Let’s pretend for a moment that someone, somewhere, might want the things you’re ready to leave on the street a few doors down. How about harnessing the awesome power of the internets? There’s a website for almost every entrepreneurial (or charitable) inclination.

Better Ways to Sell Your Stuff

Veronica Salazar was born in Mexico City, but after moving to San Francisco she couldn’t find a taqueria serving anything like the cuisine she grew up with. Working in restaurant kitchens during the week to support her family, she began selling her native foods at home on the weekends. Word spread, and the crowds grew to 40 customers, but she needed help to make her passion into a business.

In 2005, Salazar found the help she needed, starting El Hurache Loco—named after a Mexican delicacy shaped like the iconic sandal—in the commercial kitchen operated by a nonprofit called La Cocina. Initially a catering company, El Hurache Loco grew into a beloved food stand at area farmers markets. This fall, Salazar will open her own restaurant, a major victory for her and the organization that helped kickstart her business.

La Cocina’s mission is to transform talented home cooks into successful businesswomen by removing obstacles to entrepreneurship. Rooted in the Mission District of San Francisco, La Cocina provides commercial kitchen space and technical advice to help low-income, immigrant women start their own food businesses from square one. La Cocina offers the resources these women need to harness their talent and create successful businesses to support their families and contribute to the local economy, all while doing what they love.

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See more from La Cocina in this slideshow →