What Latino Restaurant Association does

The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership-based trade association founded in 2018 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It serves Latino-owned and operated restaurants and food service businesses across the United States, with a stated membership of 1,300+ restaurateurs across 8 hub cities (Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Portland, San Diego, Chicago, San Jose, and Miami "coming soon") as of October 2023. The organization operates with a lean staff of 8 employees and is led by Executive Director and CEO Lilly Rocha, with Lucy Thompson as Board President and Eddie Navarrete as Chief Consultant.

The LRA's core offerings include membership dues, the annual DINE Latino restaurant week (which grew from 226 participating restaurants in 2025 to 300+ in 2026), a 6-week Business Bootcamp accelerator, the Chefmaker mentorship program (sponsored by Wells Fargo), the Watch Learn Grow on-demand video library, and grant opportunities through partnership with SoCalGas. The association runs on the Wild Apricot membership management platform, which provides the underlying infrastructure for member registration, event ticketing, and dues collection.

The LRA generates revenue through individual and corporate membership dues, program fees, donations, and corporate sponsorships from partners including SoCalGas, Wells Fargo, Grubhub, Uber, the Orange County Restaurant Association (OCRA), the Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the California Restaurant Association, and the Port of Long Beach. Its go-to-market model is community-driven: aggregating Latino restaurateurs into a national trade body to provide advocacy, education, peer networking, and marketing platforms that individual operators cannot access independently. The association positions itself as a cultural and economic bridge between Latino restaurant owners and institutional partners (banks, utilities, delivery platforms, and government agencies) seeking to engage the Latino food service market.

Name

Latino Restaurant Association

Legal name

Latino Restaurant Association

Website

https://latinorestaurantassociation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Latino Restaurant Association is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 2018, serving 1,300+ Latino restaurateurs across 8 US hub cities with membership programs, an annual DINE Latino restaurant week, business bootcamps, and mentorship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Industry Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

Keywords

• Restaurant trade association
• Restaurant membership services
• Restaurant business education
• Restaurant grant programs
• Restaurant mentorship network

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership dues: The LRA operates as a membership-based association. Restaurant owners and operators pay membership dues to join the LRA community and access resources, networking opportunities, marketing support, and programs like Business Bootcamp and Chefmaker.
2. Donations and contributions: The organization accepts donations through its donation form powered by Wild Apricot, supporting its mission to empower Latino restaurateurs. The donation page explicitly states 'Your support ensure that Latino restaurants receive the best resources to support business growth and success.'

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Latino Restaurant Association (LRA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 2018 that provides membership services, networking, educational programming, mentorship, and grant facilitation to Latino restaurant owners and aspiring food entrepreneurs across Southern California. It operates four regional hubs and delivers both in-person events (such as the annual DINE Latino restaurant week) and digital programs (Business Bootcamp, Chefmaker, Watch Learn Grow).

Product overview

The Latino Restaurant Association is a member-driven trade association that operates as a unified platform offering multiple programs and services for Latino restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs. The core programs include: DINE Latino (an annual restaurant week event with an interactive map), Business Bootcamp (a 6-week business accelerator), Chefmaker (a mentorship program pairing aspiring chefs with restaurants), Grant Opportunity (small business grants), and Watch Learn Grow (educational video content). The association also provides membership services for networking, marketing, and business support. The organization was founded in 2018 and has grown to over 1,300 members as of October 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DINE Latino: An annual restaurant week event celebrating Latino cuisine featuring 200+ Latin American cuisines across Los Angeles
• Business Bootcamp
• Chefmaker
• Grant Opportunity

Products and services

• LRA Membership Program Annual membership tier that gives Latino restaurant owners and food entrepreneurs access to LRA's network of 1,300+ members, programming, mentorship matching, and grant facilitation resources.
• DINE Latino Annual restaurant week event that promotes LRA member restaurants, drives consumer traffic, and serves as the association's flagship community and fundraising event.
• Business Bootcamp Six-week intensive business accelerator that trains aspiring and current Latino restaurant entrepreneurs in operations, finance, marketing, and growth topics.
• Chefmaker Mentorship program that pairs aspiring Latino chefs and restaurateurs with established industry mentors for one-on-one guidance, skill development, and career support.
• Grant Opportunity Program Program that identifies, curates, and facilitates member access to grant and capital opportunities from public, private, and foundation sources.
• Watch Learn Grow On-demand video library of culinary and business education content that members and aspiring entrepreneurs can access to build skills at their own pace.

Named customers11 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SoCalGascoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSoCalGas is a key partner and program sponsor for LRA. They co-sponsor the Grant Opportunity program specifically for restaurant owners who are SoCalGas business customers. SoCalGas logo appears throughout the website indicating a significant sponsorship relationship.
• Wells FargocoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWells Fargo is a Program Sponsor for the Chefmaker initiative, supporting aspiring food entrepreneurs through mentorship and business training.
• Orange County Restaurant Association (OCRA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOCRA partners with LRA on the Chefmaker program, providing industry expertise and support for aspiring restaurateurs in the Orange County area.
• Orange County Inland Empire Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBDC provides one-on-one no-cost business coaching to Chefmaker program participants and additional applicants. Also provides a Business Coach (Martha Castro) for Business Bootcamp program.
• GrubhubminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGrubhub is listed as a partner, indicating a commercial or promotional relationship supporting Latino restaurants with delivery services.
• UberminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUber is listed as a partner, likely providing delivery or promotional support for Latino restaurants.
• California FoodserviceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCalifornia Foodservice partner offering instant rebates to support restaurant operations.
• Port of Long BeachminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPort of Long Beach is listed as a supporter/partner, understanding the importance of the restaurant community in supply chain sustainability.
• Branding Is SocialminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMarketing and branding support partner for LRA programs and initiatives.
• Latino Food IndustryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry organization partner supporting the Latino restaurant community.
• ArroyominorGTM or Marketing PartnerProgram sponsor for the Chefmaker initiative.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza): Large Latino-focused national non-profit that supports Hispanic economic empowerment including small business development. Comparable to LRA in its mission to advance economic opportunity for Latinos, though broader than restaurants and operating at a much larger scale.
• National Hispanic Business Group (NHBG): Hispanic-focused business networking and advocacy organization. Comparable to LRA in mission to support Latino business owners through networking and resources, though smaller and not restaurant-specific.
• Accion Opportunity Fund: Non-profit small business lender and educator focused on underserved entrepreneurs, including restaurants. Comparable to LRA in providing capital access and business education to minority-owned small businesses, particularly in the food and restaurant space.

Direct peers

• Orange County Restaurant Association: Regional restaurant trade association in Southern California that co-runs the Chefmaker program with LRA. Directly comparable as a regional membership association serving restaurateurs with networking, advocacy, and educational programming.
• Independent Restaurant Coalition: National coalition formed during COVID-19 to advocate for independent restaurants. Comparable to LRA in its mission to support small, independent operators through advocacy, education, and access to capital, though not ethnicity-specific.
• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles: Regional Hispanic business membership organization providing networking, advocacy, and business resources to Latino-owned businesses in LA. Comparable to LRA in its Latino-focused, LA-anchored, membership-based model serving small business owners, though broader than restaurants.
• California Restaurant Association: State-level trade association serving California restaurants with advocacy, education, and member services. LRA partners with it via the Orange County Restaurant Association on Chefmaker; they directly overlap on serving California restaurateurs and run comparable membership and event programs.

Broad incumbents

• James Beard Foundation: National non-profit focused on the culinary industry through awards, scholarships, training, and advocacy. Comparable to LRA in its non-profit, education-and-advocacy model serving the restaurant community, but with a national prestige and chef-training orientation rather than ethnic-restaurant focus.
• National Restaurant Association: Industry-wide US trade association representing over 500,000 restaurant businesses. It is the broad incumbent counterpart to LRA: same membership-association model, same advocacy and education mission, but with a much larger footprint, deeper resources, and a non-ethnic, non-niche focus.

Regional players

• Local First (Local First Arizona, Local First Chicago, etc.): Network of independent business alliances operating in specific US metros with a 'shop local' advocacy and membership model. Comparable to LRA in the membership-association, local-economy-support model, though focused on independent businesses broadly rather than ethnic restaurants.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/latino-restaurant-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Latino Restaurant Association