WASCO, Calif. (KERO) – Marcela Bojorquez, owner of Catrina’s Mexican Grill in Wasco, received a $5,000 Restaurant’s Care grant to upgrade her air conditioning systems and point of sale system.

• Bojorquez said that while she didn’t expect to receive the grants, they are a welcome addition to help fund her projects. The two projects she is immediately focused on are upgrading her point of sale system and website to be able to accept online orders, as well as adding air conditioning to the building to provide a better experience for her customers and employees.
• She said that as she prepares to celebrate her restaurant’s 10th anniversary, she increasingly feels like the customers who come to her are her family and she can watch them grow over time.

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Quick, you need to pick a place for dinner. Where is your favorite restaurant? Is it a chain or is it a local place? I bet it’s a local place.

I’m Sam Hoyle, your Wasco neighborhood reporter. Earlier this year, the California restaurant’s foundation opened applications for their restaurant’s Care Grant program.

This program provides local restaurants with grants of $5,000 to help them fund much-needed projects.

“I don’t have any family here, but I know most of the people who come here. So they are part of my family.”

Marcela Bojorquez has owned Catrina’s for nearly a decade and says like any small business, there is always something to do at the restaurant, but it usually comes down to what is the highest priority on the to-do list.

“I always have projects to make this place better, but sometimes I have to implement them little by little,” Bojorquez said.

Bojorquez said she applied for the grant funds a few days before the deadline and didn’t expect to be selected. But when did she get the email?

“Yes, you were selected to get the $5,000,” Bojorquez said, recalling the first congratulatory email. “I said okay, I was so happy and excited.”

The extra $5,000 is a welcome addition, she says, as she plans to upgrade her point-of-sale system to allow online ordering and install a new air conditioning system.

Bojorquez says modernization was their main concern this year after sales dropped following a long, hot summer.

“Technology has changed, people want different ways to order, so we’re going to set up a website where people can order online and also offer Door Dash,” Bojorquez said. “Also, our air conditioners were very, very old and the weather this year didn’t help, so it was a bad summer for us. This year was the worst, I think.”

Catrina’s wasn’t the only restaurant here in Kern County to receive a Restaurant Care grant, but Bojorquez says she hopes to provide a better experience for her customers and family the next time they visit.

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