Vice President Harris Visits Cuban Cafe In Washington DC; Orders Empanadas, Pastelito, And Cafe Con Leche

The White House
Washington DC
4 October 2021

Today Vice President Harris is stopping by Colada Shop, a D.C.-based Cuban café chain founded by Daniella Senior – who met the Vice President last week at a meeting with Latina small business leaders at the White House to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the Build Back Better Agenda.

During that meeting, Daniella told the Vice Presidentabout her experience immigrating to the U.S., the challenges of raising capital as a woman of color, and how she launched and successfully grew Colada Shop. Mayor Muriel Bowser is also joining the stop today. After hearing Daniella’s story, the Vice President wanted to follow up with Daniella to see Colada Shop in person, and learn more about the business.

When it comes to entrepreneurs like Daniella Senior, the Vice President has fought to ensure the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal creates the conditions for small businesses to thrive, through better roads and bridges, better transit, and affordable, high-speed internet. And the Vice President has advocated for the Build Back Better Agenda which will lower the cost of childcare for working parents – a game changer for small business owners, especially those run by women. Since taking office, the Vice President has followed up with several people she has previously met. Her first event after taking office was a meeting with small business owners she had previously met on the campaign trail, to follow up and see how they were doing during a difficult period. In March, after visiting Fibre Space, a small business in Arlington, Virginia owned by Danielle Romanetti – the Vice President followed up with Danielle to update her on the American Rescue Plan and see how her business was faring. In May, after meeting Eldraen, a USPS letter carrier and National Guardsmen in Connecticut, the Vice President followed up to discuss making childcare affordable and paid family leave accessible.

“Daniella’s work here at Colada and her other businesses is a prime example of why these two pieces of legislation are critical and are about everyday folks trying to contribute to their community, contributing and growing our workforce and in that way essential to all of us if we want a productive and an economically healthy community.”

NOTE: Per The White House, the vice president ordered: 1 seasonal empanada (creamy leak and carrot), 1 Picadillo empanada, 1 chicken empanada, 1 picadillo pastelito, 1 iced café con leche.

REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS AFTER VISITING A SMALL BUSINESS
Colada Shop
Washington, D.C.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Okay, guys. Well, let me just say that part of the reason I met with Daniella last week -- she came with a number of incredible business leaders to talk about the work that we are doing and the impact of Build Back Better and the impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal. And it ranges. Part of the ability of any of our businesses -- our small businesses, our medium-sized businesses -- to thrive is they need to have a transit system that allows their customers to get here, that allows them to move their product. This is part of the real nuts and bolts of why the infrastructure deal is important. It’s important to these leaders who then are not only business leaders, they’re community leaders, they’re civic leaders.

On the issue of Build Back Better, one of the extensive parts of our conversation was around access to capital, in particular for minority- and women-owned businesses. That is part of the Build Back Better agenda, is to make sure that we are identifying those businesses and making it easy for them to do what they would normally do, which is qualify for assistance so they can not only open a business but grow a business. Another point that is critically important to the work of our small businesses is to allow their workers, like the people in here -- the people who I just visited with, who are working in the kitchen -- to have affordable childcare. There are so many women who have left the workforce for a number of reasons, including a lack of available and affordable childcare. Both pieces are important. Both pieces are being addressed by the Build Back Better agenda. And Daniella’s work here at Colada and her other businesses is a prime example of why these two pieces of legislation are critical and are about everyday folks trying to contribute to their community, contributing and growing our workforce, and in that way, essential to all of us if we want a productive and an economically healthy community. So, I thank you.

Images courtesy of Mr. Tal Kopan from the San Francisco Chonicle!