{"id":90082,"date":"2026-10-01T09:19:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=90082"},"modified":"2026-10-01T09:47:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T16:47:56","slug":"westside-long-beach-guatelama-mexico-cafe-cabrillo-high-school-community-building","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/eat\/westside-long-beach-guatelama-mexico-cafe-cabrillo-high-school-community-building","title":{"rendered":"A Westside cafe features local students\u2019 art, sells its famous salsas and is determined to build community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the inaugural Westside Night Market<\/a> on Friday, Sept. 18, balloons framed the doors of the Candlestick Ravine Cafe across from Admiral Kidd Park on Santa Fe Avenue. A crowd of kids, fresh from their dress rehearsal at The Jewel Box Children\u2019s Theater<\/a> next door, were sampling horchata speckled with toasted pepitas, cinnamon and sesame seeds \u2014 Guatemalan style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cafe\u2019s soft launch last week spurred excited buzz in Long Beach\u2019s Westside \u2014 especially from students and faculty at Cabrillo High School<\/a>. Principal My Ngoc Nguyen said the students and teachers are eager to have a place directly across the street to grab a coffee (from Anaheim\u2019s Two Tone Roasters<\/a>) or a breakfast burrito with Candlestick Ravine\u2019s famous salsas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something we look forward to now, because besides a mini mart, the 7-Eleven and McDonald\u2019s, there really hasn\u2019t been many places to get a good coffee or breakfast. So now there\u2019s a great alternative,\u201d Nguyen said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was our first order of business,\u201d said James Roddy, one half of the duo who run Candlestick Ravine. \u201cWe wanted to make sure that we connected with the school. We knew they\u2019d be our main audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
James Roddy, co-owner of Candlestick Ravine Cafe, prepares potato salad for a catering event at Cabrillo High School on Thursday, Sept. 24. Photo by Shefali Kulkarni.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

James and his wife, Claudia Alvarez Roddy, opened Candlestick Ravine Cafe<\/a> on Monday, Sept. 21, but their presence is far from new in the Westside. The couple bought their home there in 2021 and began to create a community almost instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started to take walks around the neighborhood, and that gave us time to talk and check in with each other. But then we began to talk to people we would encounter,\u201d said Claudia. \u201cWithout even knowing that we were going to start this business here in the Westside, we were able to build a community just by meeting folks and recognizing the people we would bump into every night. I don\u2019t feel like you get that anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It began with salsas: After Claudia and James found themselves unemployed in 2022, the couple decided to launch a line of salsas to sell nationwide, but primarily at farmers markets in Southern California. James took guidance and inspiration from his mother\u2019s recipes from Mexico and Claudia began to create a network of supporters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, most importantly, she created the name: A combination of Candlestick Park, where the Giants and 49ers played, to represent James\u2019 Northern California roots and Ch\u00e1vez Ravine, the community that was uprooted to create Dodger Stadium, nodding to Claudia\u2019s Southern California upbringing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even inside the cafe, customers are greeted with a collage of photographs from Claudia\u2019s upbringing in Hawthorne and her family roots in Guatemala, as well as James\u2019 family in Northern California and his Mexican and Irish heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The pastries at Candlestick Ravine Cafe are baked by Claudia Alvarez-Roddy’s sister, Sept. 30, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the salsa orders kept coming in, the couple\u2019s accountant suggested they join the Long Beach LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce<\/a> to find additional resources and support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter we joined, the events coordinator asked if we did catering and could we cater an event they were putting on. At that time, we were just doing chips and salsas,\u201d Claudia said. \u201cBut I looked at [James] and said, \u2018Yeah, we can do that\u2026we\u2019ll figure it out.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, they began catering for events with 30 to 50 people. \u201cWe weren\u2019t really sure if we could cook for a lot of people,\u201d Claudia said. But they found a good rhythm \u2014 suddenly catering for 100 or more people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they found space for the cafe, the family stepped in: Claudia\u2019s sister is the baker behind the cafe\u2019s highly sought-after cinnamon rolls, muffins and cookies. The cafe\u2019s countertop was handmade by Claudia\u2019s father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few students trickled in after school during the cafe\u2019s opening day. They got some drinks and pastries, but then asked James if they were hiring. Claudia said that immediately sparked a conversation with Principal Nguyen about finding a way to provide work experience to students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Claudia Alvarez-Roddy takes orders from local high school student customers. Claudia, along with her husband, James Roddy, opened Candlestick Ravine Cafe right across the street from Cabrillo High School in the Westside of Long Beach, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[The students] told us they were thinking about college and getting in some volunteering hours. Maybe they can help us with social media,\u201d said Claudia. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing about this cafe. I want it to be this resource where they can feel like there is a place that I could go to potentially get hired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principal Nguyen said the couple reached out to her in the summer about their plans to open the cafe. Nguyen invited them to the faculty\u2019s professional development event \u2014 their community learning walks, where teachers from the high school engage with the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn our way back from our walk, we went to Candlestick Ravine. It was so sweet, Claudia and James had set up an entire complimentary spread to introduce the space to our teachers,\u201d Nguyen said.

Claudia and James brought up the idea to dedicate the left side of the cafe to host Cabrillo student artwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe wall in Candlestick Ravine is an extension of what we intended with Night of the Arts<\/a>: to highlight the incredible work of Cabrillo’s student artists,\u201d said Cabrillo visual arts teacher Emily Yarborough. \u201cStudents are always delighted to find out their work is on display, especially when the location is off campus. It is thrilling to know that a stranger values your work and wants to put it on display.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Claudia Alvarez-Roddy talks to a customer inside Candlestick Ravine Cafe. The cafe menu and decor combines Claudia’s Guatemalan heritage along with her husband and co-owner, James Roddy’s Mexican heritage, as well as the couple’s Northern and Southern California roots, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While the cafe\u2019s hours are Monday to Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. to accommodate their catering jobs and filling salsa inventory, James said that could change later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe vision has always been from the beginning building community,\u201d Claudia said. \u201cHow can we be a beacon of hope? Yes, the Westside is looked down upon, but we want to change that narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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