Local Chicana small business owners, Claudia Biezunski-Rodriguez of Sew Loka, and Alex Perez Demma of SIMÓN LIMÓN, join David Vega from South of the 8 (a Spanglish podcast about the best part of San Diego, California) to discuss their organization of Walk the Block – an outdoor retail shopping, dining, art experience in Barrio Logan happening every Saturday from 12pm - 6pm.
They discuss community organizing, shopping local and entrepreneurship.
David Vega from South of the 8: If you needed any more reminder to shop local, today's interview is with two local business women – Claudia and Alex. We had a great conversation about Walk the Block, which they're also the organizers of. We talked about shopping local, our amazing community and how much we like to uplift each other.
“We just had to hustle and do whatever we could do to survive.”
Claudia Biezunski-Rodriguez of Sew Loka: My name is Claudia and I am the owner of Sew Loka, located in Barrio Logan. I am originally from the San Fernando Valley and I moved to San Diego about 10 years ago. I opened up Sew Loka 8 years ago and I've been in Barrio Logan for a little bit over 2 years. My sewing studio just transitioned into original designs.
Alex Perez Demma of SIMÓN LIMÓN: I was born and raised in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I moved here 13 years ago. I've been in Barrio Logan for about 6 years and had different small little studios. I originally had like a jewelry business while I was waiting tables and paying the bills and then eventually made the leap into just doing jewelry. Then I realized how hard it was to get my product into stores. There was an opportunity to rent a small storefront right next to my studio and so I took the space and basically it's a storefront where I showcase local artists from both sides of the border. I'm kind of giving them a platform to also showcase their work and sell their work just because it's hard.
David Vega from South of the 8: You guys are the organizers for Walk the Block. How did it all start?
Alex Perez Demma of SIMÓN LIMÓN: When the COVID-19 pandemic came in March, everyone I was like “Oh my God! Everyone stay home!” So all of us [business owners] had to close. The business I relied on was mostly walk-ins and events, so everything came to a halt and we were struggling. I applied for grants and kept getting denied over and over again. We had no financial help. We just had to hustle and do whatever we could do to survive. Then, Claudia reached out to me and said “Hey, I have an idea. You know that they’re doing outdoor shopping in other communities like Little Italy & North Park? There's no reason that we can't do it here in Barrio Logan.”
Claudia Biezunski-Rodriguez of Sew Loka: “I saw a webinar about getting an outdoor business permit – you know, with a barrier that takes up a parking spot in front of your space. And I thought, “Wow, that looks pretty simple to do.” I am willing to do anything in order for my business to survive. I thought, “If we can conduct business in a safe way and still feed our families – let’s do it.” So, we sent invites to all the local business owners to meet at Chicano Park to pitch them the idea. Only 10 or 12 business owners showed up to the meeting. And, on August 8th – the first Walk the Block event – only Alex from SIMÓN LIMÓN was set up outside. And, we had gotten some news coverage for it the night before on Friday. And then Saturday, August 8th when I showed up in the morning, I opened my door just to kind of like be a chismosa out there… and it was buzzing. Everything aligned perfectly with the news media and like we just got lucky.”