Cafe Belen sits on the corner of a strip center on Santa Monica Boulevard, distinguished by its exterior dining space marked by a beautiful, artificial ivy-covered wall. The wall features a sign and logo announcing the restaurant’s name.
Inside, I sit down with Juan, one of the cafe’s owners, and ask him what makes Cafe Belen different from other restaurants.
“We’ve created more than friendships with our customers – we’ve created family,” he tells me, his enthusiasm evident even after many hours in the restaurant.
Juan’s journey in the restaurant industry started at the very bottom – as a dishwasher at California Pizza Kitchen.
“I wound up doing everything at CPK,” Juan explains. “From dishwasher, to take out, to server, then management. Everything.” Then his career path took him to other restaurants – BJ’s, Cafe Vida, Cheesecake Factory – always learning, always climbing.
But it was the lessons from home that stayed with him throughout that climb.
Humble Beginnings
When I ask him what led him to work so well with others, Juan reflects on his upbringing. “My family, how we grew up, how my dad treated us and taught us to be humble to others,” he says. The humility his father instilled, combined with his mother’s support, created the foundation for what would become Cafe Belen.
The restaurant’s name itself reflects this connection to family and roots. “Cafe Belen comes from Guatemala, that’s where I grew up and it reminds me of my childhood,” Juan explains. The name means “promised land” – fitting for someone who traveled so far to build something of his own.
When the time came to open the restaurant, it was Juan’s mother who provided the financial backing, transferring money from Guatemala to help make her son’s dream a reality. Though she hasn’t been able to visit, Juan says she is “very happy about it.”
A Family Operation
Today, Cafe Belen operates as a true family business. Juan’s business partner Julio handles the front of house, while Juan’s brother Luis serves as the chef. Julio’s wife Lily helps with everything from getting almond butter to picking up bread – “all little details that we need,” as Juan puts it.
Even Juan’s own children, twelve-year-old Valerie and nine-year-old Victor, are part of the operation. They come in on weekends, and Juan proudly shares that his son cleaned the windows when Cafe Belen first opened. “My kids try to help us too,” he says. “It means a lot to me.”
But it’s more than just running a business – it’s about creating something together that reflects their shared values.
The Neighborhood Embrace
What has surprised Juan most about running Cafe Belen is the warmth of the community response. “People treat us well,” he says. “They welcomed us to the neighborhood.”
Juan describes customers who hug him, people who knew him from his previous restaurant jobs and followed him to his new venture. “You feel like you are a little kid and your dad is hugging you,” he says about these interactions. “That’s how I feel.”
This isn’t the typical relationship between restaurant owner and customer. Juan says, “When you meet people and you take care of people, they hug you.”
More Than a Meal
The menu at Cafe Belen reflects the family’s Guatemalan heritage alongside American cafe favorites. When I ask Juan what people new to the cafe should consider ordering, he has a lot of ideas. He mentions the Belen breakfast sandwich, French toast, Cuban bowl, miso salmon, Belen pasta, and chicken quinoa salad. He clearly loves all the dishes.
Full Circle
There’s something poetic about Juan’s journey from the lowest level of kitchen staff to restaurant owner. In fact, when Cafe Belen first opened, he and Julio washed dishes themselves for the first three or four months to save money. “We did everything,” Juan says with a laugh. “We did cooking, we did everything.”
As our conversation winds down, Juan returns to gratitude – for the customers who support them, for the community that welcomed them, for the opportunity to create something meaningful with his family.
“We are very grateful for that,” he says simply.
At Cafe Belen, family isn’t just who works in the kitchen or who provides financial backing. It’s the customers who stop by for breakfast and stay for the warmth. It’s the neighborhood that embraced a new business. It’s the values passed down from parents that shape how you treat everyone who walks through your door.
In an industry often focused on efficiency and profit margins, Juan and his family have created something different – a place where the recipe for success includes equal parts good food and genuine care for the people they serve.
