Meet Dora Herrera | Restaurateur and Community Builder

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dora Herrera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dora, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I was seven when I threw a lifesaver into the deep end of the pool and jumped in after it. Not because of a dare, or because I was brave. I jumped in because my sister was going under for the third time and the adults at the other end of the pool thought she was waving. I didn’t stop to think because my sister needed me. My reward? Action from the adults who saw me jump in because, “Dora can’t swim!”

Risks and rewards – can’t get one without the other! I’ve always looked at risk as a part of life that provides an opportunity to decide what matters most to you in the moment. A take a deep breath and jump into the deep end of the pool moment; knowing that whatever happens, it is imperative that you jump into that pool. Now.

I had the best teacher in the world, my Mom – who moved to foreign countries and launched businesses without knowing the language, and as a tailor, without having sewn a dress on her own before. She conquered these challenges with gusto and elan, always certain that she’d land squarely on her feet.

Because of her, action in the face of risk has always been an automatic reaction for me – whether it was adapting to another country’s (or two) language and culture, fighting off a gang of bullies, or choosing to grow by setting off to university three thousand miles away. How to make the best out of what was happening? What were my viable options? Which would help me grow into a better human?

As a freshman science major at Brown University in 1980, I promised myself I would try anything and everything that came my way, my “Don’t Say No” era. I joined the fencing team, signed up for Portuguese and African Drumming classes, and joined the ice hockey team. Cool, eh? What if I told you I didn’t know how to skate?

Here’s how it started:
Friends: “What are you doing now that soccer’s over?” (the second new sport for me)
Me: “Haven’t given it a thought yet.”
Friends: “Come play ice hockey with us!”
Me: “Sounds fun! Do you think the coach will mind that I don’t know how to skate?”

It was fun. Challenging and humbling, too. But I kept at it, played for four years, and graduated with the honor of being picked by my peers and coaches as athlete of the year. Not bad for a kid from California that hadn’t played organized sports before college.

Ask me about risk, and I’ve got stories to tell, not all of them ending well. Ask me would I do it again if given the chance, knowing the end results? Heck, yeah. Choosing the unknown, perhaps disastrous result never made me hesitate because, to paraphrase a well-known quote, “What if I soared?”

Back in Los Angeles, I joined the family business and started my “Say Yes” era. Yes, to being a founding member of the Los Feliz Village Business Improvement District. Yes, to help create the Greater Griffith Park Neighborhood Council. Yes, to running my first marathon. Yes, to being on Oprah as the ‘Napkin Nazi’ (that piece was cut, but it had a perfect happy ending because a year later she featured us as “the best burrito, evah!” – but, that’s another article).

My latest dance with risk came in 2022 with the opportunity to participate in bidding for catering gigs for Super Bowl LVI in Los Angeles. But first, I had to make the cut at SBLVI Business Connect.
I worried about the competition, my lack of experience, the size of my kitchen and crew…and I went for it. Made the cut. Rushed to get my MBE finalized. Got picked for a Tailgate!
Assembled a team of 13 volunteers and fabulous Chef Michelle Lainez jumped in to help me navigate the process of cooking food for 2000 guests (renting a kitchen, hiring extra prep cooks, timing food deliveries…). And, we ROCKED IT!

We celebrated forty-seven years of YUCA’S Restaurants on April 1, 2023 and I look forward to whatever challenge the next 40 or so years will bring – because I’m still in my “Say Yes” era!
Got risk? Dive right in!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We’ve been creating happy memories through food at our 8’x10′ converted shoeshine shack, lovingly known as The Hut for forty-seven years now. It all started with a woman’s dream, my mom. Socorro Herrera, founder of YUCA’S had a dream: open a small spot where she could show Los Angeles the true flavor of México, while earning money to help feed her family. She was going to do it all – cook, cashier, dishwasher, marketer, bookkeeper – but was soon inundated by customers clamoring for her tasty tacos and burgers (burgers at a taco stand)! They learned about her good food by the antics of my brother, Jaime Herrera Jr., who stood at the edge of the sidewalk in front of YUCA’S, waving at cars to pull over, and making them an enticing offer, “We just opened, come in and try our food, and if you don’t like it, we’ll give you Double Your Money Back!” We never had to return anyone’s money, and they all left to spread the word about the crazy guy in Los Feliz whose Mom served amazing Mexican food from the Yucatán. And, burgers.
Soon we were featured in the L.A. Times, N.Y. Times, USA Today, radio and TV. The dream had blossomed into an amazing community gathering place, and a go-to spot for foodies. As the year’s passed, more recognition came our way. Most amazing were receiving a James Beard Award in the America’s Classics category, a shout out from the Queen of daytime shows as, “The Best burrito, evah!”, and just last year, an Emmy for the episode about YUCA’S on KCET’s SoCal Wanderer series. The series highlights trailblazing women-owned businesses that “add color and flavor to their neighborhoods”, while enhancing the lives of those around them.
Through it all, we have kept in mind that we are where we are today because of the people who supported and uplifted us – whether as customers, vendors, community activists, friends, or mentors. Each plays an important part in our journey to live, work, and play in a community that continues to grow and evolve as the years pass, and the times change.
In forty-seven years, our menu hasn’t changed much. There is a sense of homecoming in knowing that you can come to YUCA’S and find what you have grown to love, and that this will always be true. That you arrived in a rush, and find yourself immersed in a conversation that has somehow kept you enthralled for over three hours. That tradition and forward thinking can co-exist, and here is where they intersect. And, it all starts with a good meal made by Mama Yuca’s.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I had a friend visit from New York recently. She moved away twenty years ago only “to get her art business started”. She fully intended to return to L.A. within 2-3 years. Well, you know the saying about the best laid plans! Much has changed in twenty years, but the perennial favorites still exist: hiking in Griffith Park or the Altadena Crest Trail, visits to the beach – nearby Santa Monica or a day trip to Oxnard, and, of course, breakfast, lunch and dinner!
• Croissants and other baked goods in Atwater Village at the Village Bakery & Cafe, or Proof Bakery.
• Happy hour Margaritas at La Cabañita on a Wednesday.
• Delicious dinners, and hours upon hours of political discussion with other diners at il Capriccio on Vermont.
• A movie at Rooftop Cinema Club in DTLA.
• YUCA’S Eats L.A. Food Tour (of Mama’s and mine favorite haunts).
• Sandwiches at the Eastside Deli in Los Feliz.
• Friday Nights at The Fable, Eagle Rock’s watering hole.
Tailtown’s Meow & Paint, Yoga, Pilates, Bingo or Trivia nights in Pasadena – all while soft, fuzzy cats roam around you trying to steal your meal.
• Biking or walking along Junipero Beach in Long Beach, with breakfast awaiting you at Saltwater Deck when you return…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My life’s road has been paved with the best people and organizations who continue to make my journey one to treasure:

• Socorro “Mama Yuca’s” Herrera – I am who I am today because she taught me how to fly.
  • Pilar Boris – Mama’s sister, who constantly pushes me to ever greater heights.
• My sister, Margarita Herrera, and life partner, Kathryn Louyse – my sidekicks through everything in life, good, bad, or ugly.
  Lilly Rocha, Anita Ron and Brenda Duarte – fellow entrepreneurs who provide a space in which to throw ideas around without judgement, and who encourage me to continue to provide value to our world.
• Friends of Griffith Park, who are indefatigable in their pursuit of keeping our wonderful urban wilderness a place of solace for all.
  • Friends of Los Feliz Library, especially the Head Librarian, Pearl Yonezawa.
  • City Impact Lab, created by John Bwarie, to bring government, artists, nonprofits, and business leaders together to create social impact in L.A.
  • Latino Restaurant Association 
• L.A. Cleantech Incubator, led by Laura Gonzalez with the most awesome mentors, that influences change through thought leadership.
• Latina Golfers Association, founder Azucena Maldonado – golf will never be the same, and that’s a good thing.
  We All Grow Latina, CEO Ana Flores, who is making the deep end of the pool more crowded every day.

Business programs:
• Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses, LACC Cohort 13.
• Tory Burch Foundation, 2022 Cohort.
• James Beard Foundation Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership 2022 Cohort.
• SCMSDC Centers of Excellence 2022

• Multicultural Women Executive Leadership Program

Website: www.yucasla.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/yucasla
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/doraherrera, https://www.linkedin.com/company/yuca’s-restaurants/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/yucasla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YucasRestaurants

Image Credits
Gary Leonard, Lupe Duarte, Dora Herrera