LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Biden administration honored the CEO of a budding Las Vegas small business in Washington D.C. this week.
Mothership Coffee CEO Juanny Romero was named Runner-Up Small Business Person of the Year 2023 on Monday, May 1.
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman serves as the voice of small businesses in President Joe Biden's cabinet.
“Juanny opened her first café and grew the Mothership brand by learning every angle and job — she was her company’s first and only barista and now employs and manages a team of more than 50 employees. Juanny, an incredible SBA success story, reminds us that when we power entrepreneurs to overcome barriers, they create jobs and build community to advance our Nation and economy.” said Administrator Guzman in a Monday release.
Juanny Romero has goals of expanding her business and brand this year, according to the SBA.
The announcement states Romero has plans to add two more coffee shops in 2023, which will bring her total to five locations in the Las Vegas valley.
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, she maintained her business’s profitability, kept prices the same, increased staff wages, donated coffee to a homeless field hospital, created a charity coffee bag program to benefit first responders, and started a coffee bartering program featured on national news outlets."
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Also cited in the runner-up announcement were Romero's commitment to supporting businesses run by women. "She buys coffee beans through a woman-owned coffee farming cooperative and donates to female programs in coffee-producing countries."
The 2023 Small Business Person of the Year award went to a man named Abdirahman Kahim, CEO and owner of Afro Deli & Grill in St. Paul Minnesota.
