Nestled tightly in an unassuming street in New York City’s East Harlem, a small, family-owned Mexican restaurant and bakery has become known for its authentic dishes, but also as a welcoming community hub, especially for the LGBTQ community and for its outsize social media presence.
“I noticed that my family had already created a very welcoming environment for the Latino community, the Mexican community, the immigrant community,” said Café Ollín co-owner Jonathan Perez, whose parents opened the restaurant. “But it was also very important for me to show my identity.”
Perez runs the marketing and business strategy for his family’s restaurant. He’s worked to create social media content that caters to both queer and Latinx communities.
“I’m a queer business owner, and it was always really important for me to, like, showcase that through my social media,” Perez said.
Jonathan Perez helping with orders by the register during the lunch rush at Ollín.NBC News
The restaurant has hosted queer singles’ nights, LGBTQ+ paint and sips and drag shows, providing a safe community space for all who enter. Perez said these events and the restaurant’s pride-filled social media presence has led to more LGBTQ+ customers coming to the restaurant, where they can feel a sense of belonging.
But Perez said coming to terms with his sexuality and cultural identity was difficult.
“I think it was still very much taboo and especially, in the Hispanic community, the Mexican community,” he said. “It’s kind of like you don’t think [about it]. You don’t talk about it.”
That feeling of isolation is something Perez said he felt since he was a kid who immigrated to the U.S. at just 4 years old in the 90s.
The outside of Ollín in East Harlem New York.NBC News
“When I was in school, in elementary school, the kids would make fun of me and they would call me the ‘Taco boy’ or whatever. So that would traumatize you and you would not want to eat tacos. You would not want to eat mole,” Perez said about the iconic Mexican sauce.
But what once was an embarrassment has evolved into immense pride.
“Looking back at it now, it’s kind of like, it’s who we are. It’s who I am. It’s my family. It’s beautiful,” Perez said.
Mexican immigrants make up the second largest group of Latino immigrants in New York City, according to NYC.gov.
The family’s entrepreneurial dream started back in 1990, when Perez’s father, Juan, immigrated to New York from Mexico. Over the course of a few years, he brought over other members of his family.
A young Jonathan Perez, center, with his brother and cousins at a theme park.Courtesy Jonathan Perez
Café Ollín opened in 1997 and was originally a bodega-style grocery store that converted into a dance hall on the weekends.
“Their goal was obviously to put money on the table and feed their family. But it was also very important for them to sell a lot of products that would remind the Mexican community, which was growing at the time, things like tortilla, frijoles, jalapenos,” Perez said.
Though Perez helped stock the shelves and clean up the store as a kid, his involvement with the family’s restaurant wasn’t a linear path.
After a conflict with his family, he ended up going out on his own at 17.
Mole chicken served with rice, beans and tortillas at the Ollín restaurant. The recipe is from Jonathan’s grandmother and they import the spices from Mexico.NBC News
“Making my own money as well was a big, big factor for me to kind of step away from the family, but I think also finding my own community,” Perez said. “My first manager was queer, and I just felt identified for once in my life. So I just didn’t see myself coming back to the family business.”
According to a survey from The Trevor Project, many Latinx LGBTQ youth say their mental health has suffered because of their sexuality and culture — with 44% of them saying they seriously considered suicide.
Perez was working in a corporate job when the Covid-19 pandemic hit and he realized that his family needed his help more than ever. So he quit his job and came back to Café Ollín.
Perez said his new mission was to make sure other members of the LGBTQ+ community knew they were welcomed at Café Ollín, a task his own family evolved into as well.
Some of the specialty dishes and menu items at Ollín displayed on the front window.NBC News
“They accept me for who I am. We had some really beautiful moments this last couple of years where my dad, during Pride, he expressed to me how much he cares about me and how he loves me no matter what,” Perez added.
At the bustling restaurant and bakery, Perez’s dad and brother, Israel, do most of the cooking and his mother, Leticia, is often stationed at the cash register and serving customers.
Perez said it’s all about having your family of chance, and your family of choice.
“We create our own family,” he said, “and I’m lucky enough to have some amazing friends.”
