By Tracy Correa
One of the event rooms at The Loft, a new Fresno business that will host weddings, parties and corporate functions. (Photo by Tracy Correa.)
FRESNO – Sisters Rosa Escalante and Xitlalli Marquez dreamed of merging their passion for interior design with an events venue. And that’s what they’ve done with help from the Fresno Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s new Downtown Business Hub.
The Loft is a 10,500-square-foot events center with an upscale design for hosting wedding receptions, parties and corporate events. The business, located in Fresno’s Tower District, celebrated a ribbon cutting Jan. 23 and 10 events already have been booked.
The new business is a tangible result of the partnership between PG&E and the Hispanic Chamber. PG&E donated $80,000 to help the chamber open the Downtown Business Hub, which in turn helps nurture, grow and develop new businesses. It is believed to be the first bilingual business incubator in the western United States.
PG&E ‘made an investment’ in Fresno
Dora Westerlund, president and CEO of the Fresno Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said PG&E’s financial support has been crucial to helping businesses like The Loft.
“It is thanks to the funding from PG&E that we are able to assist them. They [PG&E] have made an investment in the city of Fresno to create jobs,” she said.
The Loft could eventually allow the two sisters to provide jobs for up to 45 people.
Xitlalli Marquez (left) and her sister Rosa Escalante just opened The Loft, a Fresno events venue, with assistance from a PG&E-sponsored program offered by the Fresno Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. (Photo by Tracy Correa.)
Escalante and Marquez already owned Lounge Essence, a Fresno-based modern furniture design and rental company, when they came up with the idea for the events venue after noticing Fresno lacked such spaces. Xitlalli (pronounced Seet-lah-lee) Marquez’s husband, Jaime Marquez, provided business guidance and helped with the initial $1 million investment. Jaime Marquez’s family owns the Mexican food company Marquez Brothers International which has a plant in Fresno.
Things were going along fine until the sisters ran out of money to complete the extensive renovations on the former furniture store building constructed in 1941.
“The renovation was a little complicated,” because of the age of the building, said Escalante. “There were a lot of structural changes required.”
Downtown Business Hub steps in
That’s where the Downtown Business Hub came in, linking the sisters with the Valley Small Business Development Corp. and helping them prepare all the necessary paperwork to secure a critical loan to finish the project.
The sisters, who were in business together in Mexico before moving to the United States, said the construction took much longer than they anticipated. Escalante immersed herself in every detail of the process to ensure the finished building met their expectations.
Xitlalli Marquez said the completed venue is representative of their design style, which she described as contemporary and modern. The rooms are open, airy and light with ornate lighting fixtures.
The sisters said the business is everything they hoped for and they are grateful for all the help received along with the way.
Rosa Escalante (left) and sister Xitlalli Marquez, both dressed in black, cut the ribbon at the formal opening of The Loft. Fresno City Council members Blong Xiong and Oliver Baines (pictured left of the sisters) look on. PG&E's Cindy Pollard, wearing a yellow jacket, is on the right. (Photo by Angela Vega.)
Cindy Pollard, manager of government relations for PG&E was invited to speak at last month’s ribbon cutting for the new business, which was also attended by local dignitaries including council members Blong Xiong, Oliver Baines and Larry Westerlund, husband to Dora Westerlund.
“We are glad to have played a part in helping this new, small business open its doors,” said Pollard. “We know that the money PG&E has contributed to the Downtown Business Hub will go a long way toward building more businesses and creating jobs in an area that suffers from chronic high unemployment.”
Westerlund said there are many more business being helped because of PG&E’s financial contribution to the Downtown Business Hub. “At any given time we are helping 20 to 25 businesses,” she said.
Email Tracy Correa at tcce@pge.com.
