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La Catrina Cantina needed help keeping its doors open during this particularly economically difficult summer. Six months after our busiest time of the year was abruptly cut short on February 22, the effects are still keenly felt. With some coaching from the Fundraising Queen of Vallarta, Sharon Gerber Scherer, Juan Alvarado, co-owner of La Catrina Cantina, reached out on social media to ask for help.
And we came.
The roster of La Catrina Cantina was out in force, of course; where would they go if La Catrina Cantina closed? La CC sprang to life due to an emergency called the pandemic and absorbed the talent that suddenly had nowhere to go. Facing a quiet as usual summer but with no savings put aside, Juan came up with a plan and created a 10,000 peso VIP membership and sold seven or eight of those within the first hour. That, combined with the donations and tips collected, should get the business through to the end of October, when our tourists, feeling the early bite of winter, will return.
And we had a fabulous two-plus-hours of the finest entertainment in town! Kevin Anthony kicked things off; he is such a light. We danced, ate, drank, and sang along with Nacho Granados, Tonny Kenneth, and host Luis Villanueva. Dozens of voices rose to the occasion.
In six years, La Catrina Cantina has become a vital part of Vallarta’s entertainment industry. An easy-going, everybody-is-welcome vibe with the happiest wait staff I have ever encountered in a restaurant/bar setting. To let that close is wrong on so many levels.
Every business in Vallarta is struggling to some degree, and here is how you can help: go out to eat, stop for a drink somewhere you have never been before, and share the love. And if your business is in dire straits, become proactive. Instead of sitting in your empty bar or restaurant bemoaning the fact that you have no customers, CREATE something!
A case in point – Il Pesce has a two-for-one menu, food and specialty cocktails, that’s only available on Wednesdays, their usual day off. The place was full by 8 pm last week!
Everyone loves a bargain, so make some! Have a half-price sale! Offer a glass of wine free with dinner. Be creative; use social media to let people know what you are offering. Use platforms like ShowMePV to spread the news. The more you give, the more you shall receive. Try it. You might need to advertise for more wait staff. Yes, in the summer.
Thank you to La Catrina Cantina for reaching out. As Sharon Gerber Scherer says, “The number one reason people don’t give is they’re not asked.”
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