Meet Raquel DeHoyos, owner behind La Bodega Del Cuervo.

 

Why La Bodega Del Cuervo?

 

"El Cuervo" or The Crow was my father's nickname. Crows are resilient as was my Dad who courageously fought a long battle with Parkinson's disease before passing on my birthday in July of 2019. Dad was crafty, had a wicked sense of humor that I miss daily, and loved peanut butter sandwiches. In the early days of this business, I would drive around town making deliveries with Dad as my silent co-pilot and trusting in blind faith that this little endeavor would keep me and Mom afloat. It did.

 

Since childhood, I have struggled with chronic health issues. My path to health came through a life's-worth of experience working in both the food industry and non-profit work focusing largely on cooking and nutrition. I have worn many hats in my career but the one I am most passionate about is being a health advocate and standing for the rights that everyone have easy access to healthy foods and education that empowers them to live a long and healthy life.

 

La Bodega Del Cuervo began in September of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, as a way to bring more healthy foods to Laredo. I created the first on-line health food store with products not easily available to the community and created health fair markets to showcase the growing, local food producers with the same mission as ours: to make more healthy foods accessible to Laredoans.

 

In November of 2021, I had the ultimate opportunity to reengage with my work around cooking and nutrition education when I was hired on as the manager of CHEF (Culinary Health Education for Families) a program local to San Antonio to help address the increasing health challenges of the city's youth. I like to call us, "The Little Program With Big Dreams." With the same collaborate efforts that I enjoyed working with my fellow food entrepreneurs in Laredo, I have the fortune of connecting with San Antonio area health advocates to make changes in the food and education systems that will ultimately drive long-term generational change. It doesn't get more satisfying than that.

 

Beginning 2023, I'll be ramping up the muffin machine to bring our gluten and dairy free baked goods to both Laredo and San Antonio area markets. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook and check our Events page for current listings on where I'll be popping up next.