Welcome to Partner Provisions, where we introduce you to the incredible people and stories behind the restaurants, food trucks and caterers helping Zerocater feed the workforce – breakfast, lunch, dinner and every meal in between.
- Name: Andrew McDowell
- Restaurant: With Love Market and Cafe
- City: Los Angeles
- Website: www.withlovela.com
- Instagram Handle: @withlovela_
What is With Love Market & Cafe?
With Love Market & Cafe is a social enterprise Market and Cafe in South LA. We offer quality, affordable and healthy food options while staying true to our community’s heritage.
Tell us With Love Market & Cafe’s Story.
Our goal was to create healthy food access, local jobs, community space, and provide access to free resources in our community in South LA. When we saw the need for each of those things, we began strategizing a way to meet those needs through a sustainable social enterprise.
What’s your dream for With Love Market & Cafe?
My dream for With Love is to become fully sustainable while maintaining lasting social impact in our community in South LA. Additionally, we want to try and replicate and have a model for under-resourced neighborhoods; to have healthy food access, local jobs, community space and free access to resources in those communities as well.
What was the very first dish at With Love Market & Cafe?
The very first dish at With Love was the Kale Berry Salad… kale massaged in olive oil and sea salt, with berries and slivered almonds. It is a classic and staple on our menu!
Tell us about one of your signature dishes?
One of our favorite signature dishes is our breakfast tacos. It’s our signature because it combines all different kinds of flavors from our community, along with healthier options to meet most any diet. That’s why we serve them all day at our store! You can purchase as many as you want to meet your hunger level and not feel like you need to overeat, unlike a breakfast burrito.
What’s your favorite thing about bringing With Love Market & Cafe to offices?
We love bringing With Love to offices, exposing them to the beautiful foods and flavors of our South LA neighborhood, and giving people the opportunity to support our community work.
What is one thing not many know about With Love Market & Cafe?
One thing not many know about With Love is that we are a social enterprise. Our profits are reinvested into our community through free access to health, fitness, and educational programs.
What is your biggest challenge as a restaurateur?
Our biggest challenge as a restaurateur is striking a balance between quality and affordability.
What piece of advice would you offer to a new restaurateur or someone starting out in the food business?
My advice to someone starting out in the food business is to spend a lot of time developing your menu and setting appropriate margins so that what you offer people is delicious, cost-effective, and financially viable for you to produce in the long term.
Tell us about a time where With Love Market & Cafe played a role in bringing people together or helped to foster community.
With Love is all about bringing people together and fostering community! We do this through all of our community programs which are regular, bilingual, and free. We are constantly bringing aspects and people in our neighborhood together that never would have met otherwise.
How has office catering helped your business grow?
Office catering has allowed us to become more efficient with our existing staff and give additional hours to staff.
What do you like most about partnering with Zerocater?
Our favorite thing about partnering with Zerocater is the high-touch customer service, it is extremely helpful, along with the ability to plan for the upcoming week with multiple days advance.
Anything else we forgot to ask?
When businesses order from With Love they aren’t only ordering great food for their employees or for their event, but they are also supporting amazing community work and people who may not have been able to find quality jobs otherwise. They have an opportunity to promote this aspect of their business through the support of our work, and that something special and rare in South LA.
