El Coqui's owners specialize in Puerto Rican edibles and sweets

YAZMIN AULI, 45, of Northeast Philadelphia, and Cesar Guzman, 48, of Crescentville, co-own El Coqui Panaderia Y Reposteria, a Puerto Rican bakery/restaurant. In 2012, it relocated from Kensington to larger digs on I Street near Venango in Harrowgate. I spoke with Auli.

Q: How'd you come up with the idea?

A: I came to Philadelphia in 2001 and made cakes and pastries in my house. In 2007, I opened my first bakery in Kensington but I wanted to grow and needed more space and parking.

Q: The startup money?

A: I used some personal savings and got a $5,000 loan from the Women's Opportunities Resource Center to open the first bakery. When I moved to our current location, I used money from the business, about $40,000, to buy display cases and machinery.

Q: What's special about El Coqui?

A: It's the Puerto Rican pastries, especially the cream horns and guava pastries. I make a sweet bread and a Puerto Rican bread. My homemade cakes are also popular, especially the moist almond cake. That's $1.50 per slice or $15 for a whole cake. The breads are $2 per loaf. Individual desserts range from $1 to $3.50.

Q: The biz model?

A: We have commercial clients such as supermarkets and grocery stores. We also prepare lunches for activities at organizations, including Congreso and the University of Pennsylvania. We cater special occasions, including weddings, baby showers and corporate events. The majority of customers come here to dine or get takeout. Wholesale represents about 30 percent of revenues and retail makes up the rest.

Q: Do you deliver?

A: Yes, I have two vans and a truck. We make deliveries to customers in Allentown, Reading and New Jersey. I have a customer in Washington, D.C., that I supply, who has a food truck, and he comes here every week to get bread and pastries.

Q: Your customers?

A: I have many customers of different ethnic backgrounds, including Chinese, Indian, Latino and African-American. I think 90 percent come here by car. We're located in a shopping plaza and have plenty of free parking. Weekend customers come from all over the East Coast, Boston to the Carolinas.

Q: The name?

A: El Coqui identifies the business as Puerto Rican. The coqui is a very small tree frog, about an inch long. The male makes a [high-pitched] sound, called "co-qui," which is only found in Puerto Rico.

Q: How big a biz?

A: We have 15 employees, and three are full-time.

Q: What's next?

A: I would like to open a second bakery, maybe in Allentown or Atlantic City, because people tell me they can't get any Puerto Rican pastries.

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