Kern Sol News spoke to small local businesses in Delano and McFarland to ask a few questions: What accomplishments are they proud of this year, and what do they hope to accomplish by the end of next year?
Cecilia Castan, founder of The Little Boba Shop
Castan first opened up her Latina-owned establishment back in 2019 and has been in the business for six and a half years, catering to the Delano and Visalia communities.
The Little Boba Shop was recently awarded the Best Customer Service in Delano, a huge achievement for the establishment.
“This was the greatest accomplishment because it means everything. When I talk to my team, I always tell them that the first and most important thing is customer service because we need more kindness, and we need people to remember how you make them feel. I want to make sure that every time someone comes in here that it’s like warmth and positive,” explained Castan
For the upcoming year, she hopes to create more content that demonstrates the behind-the-scenes of making the drinks and hopes to showcase the personalities of her baristas, so that the Delano community gets to know these individuals on a personal level.
Kern Bakery
Bernando Preza, owner and manager of one of Delano’s popular bakeries, has served the community by providing a variety of fresh breads and cakes for over ten years. The family-owned business was founded three generations ago in Mexico and continues to keep its family recipes to provide quality-based foods that represent them most.
“ Our biggest accomplishment so far this year, thanks to our community and god, is that we remain open today, given that many big and small businesses alike are closing down. Our main objective this year was to remain open and to provide our services to the community. With that, our main goal next year is the same -to remain open and offer assistance to our community one way or another, because all of us united allow us to function and operate the best,” said Preza.
Marlin’s Flower Shop
Blandina Nuño, owner of Marlin’s Flower Shop, has been operating her business for over fourteen years. Nuño expressed that despite her establishment doing well in the past few years, this year has shown to be the most difficult to remain afloat, especially without the support from the City of Delano.
During big events and parades that take place down on Main Street, many small businesses are asked to close for a few hours during the events. Nuño notes that because of this, many businesses like hers do not gain any profit but rather lose money.
“ For this upcoming year, I just hope to see more support from the community, but especially from those who work at the City of Delano, because we need to see them support local businesses now that they have shut down four other businesses. This is very worrisome because Delano is growing more, so much more,” explained Nuño.
Sam Alonso, Founder of Anvros Gym
Sam Alonso first opened Anvros Gym almost two years ago, servicing the community of McFarland. By creating a welcoming environment for residents to focus on their health and well-being, Alonso’s vision centered on accessibility, consistency, and community support, and continue to shape the gym’s daily operations.
“A really big project we took up this year was our Toys for Tots initiative. So, that was the first time we actually partnered with Toys for Tots…We hosted a donation box, and we were fortunate enough to have our members partake in the project, and we were able to donate to the community, which was an amazing project….It’s something that we’re excited to continue,” said Alonso.
As the end of the year fast approaches, Alonso reflected on the past year and all of the ways Anvros and he were able to uplift the community of McFarland.
“We’ve partnered with Kern Family Healthcare, where we’ve been able to offer free memberships for those Kern Family Healthcare members that qualify. We have partnered with Delano adults with disabilities to provide one of their patients with work… We were able to accomplish what we set out to accomplish,” said Alonso.
Immortal’s Gym
Immortal’s Gym is one of the newest additions to Delano’s growing city. Having been open for nearly two years, Immortal’s biggest accomplishment is said to have been their Grand Opening, which was held earlier this year in January.
“The Grand Opening was our biggest accomplishment because we had it this year. The Soft Opening was last year, and then the Grand Opening was this year, and it did not look like this, so I would say that,” said Brenda Gonzalez, manager at Immortal’s Gym.
As Immortal’s Gym continues to grow into the new year, Gonzalez mentioned a few ideas that will soon grow into fruition.
“We want to get the spas running and hopefully get more members, probably get different memberships if the spas come in,” said Gonzalez.