Joy, a Taiwanese restaurant on York Boulevard, donates the proceeds from its Mexican wedding cookies to local nonprofits in Highland Park and NELA each month.
According to Joy founder Vivian Ku, the restaurant’s building was previously occupied by Elsa’s Bakery, a small business that operated for 40 years. Ku said that Elsa’s was a central hub of the Highland Park community and that the owner’s experience as immigrants starting a food business in the US reminded Ku of her own family. Ku was inspired to sell Mexican wedding cookies and donate the profits as a way to honor Elsa’s Mexican cultural history.
“We wanted to make sure coming into this neighborhood that we were able to be a positive addition and also honor the fact that this building has a lot of history in this neighborhood,” Ku said.
Ku said that previous beneficiaries have included AMP Youth Arts, Optimist Youth Homes, Compton’s Girls Club and a local backpack drive. Ku said that Joy’s partnership program is supportive of a range of causes.
“Different things speak to different people. Our hope is that if we diversify, we can cover a little bit of everything,” Ku said.
Ku said the partnership program aims to support local causes. The current organization of the month is Allies of Yorkdale, a nonprofit created by small-business owners in Highland Park to generate opportunities for Yorkdale Elementary. Their recent fundraiser raised money to hire a dance teacher for the school.
“We put an emphasis on local communities if possible, and sometimes, we place a priority on smaller groups since larger groups get so much funding,” Ku said.
Ku said Joy is meant to be in a reciprocal relationship with the community of Highland Park and is one of the reasons behind the partnership program.
“We’re a kind of service to the community, but we really depend on the community to come out — otherwise we wouldn’t be able to exist,” Ku said. “We’re dependent on one another, so if we truly believe that, then as a small business, a portion should go towards bettering the community in certain ways.”
Ku said she tries to make the restaurant as accessible as possible.
“Maybe there’s a busy mom who can’t put a meal together but can pick up something and have dinner plans for the family for the night,” Ku said. “Or if someone wants to just get a snack, we’re open continuously from twelve to ten for that reason.”
Ku said she has always hoped to uplift others through her work.
“I’ve always kind of fantasized about doing a nonprofit restaurant,” Ku said. “The idea is if all else held equal and there were two identical products, why wouldn’t you buy the one that you knew was also doing some good?”
Annelise Seligmann (sophomore) said that the partnership program encouraged her to support the restaurant.
“I think it’s sometimes hard to go because they’re expensive, but knowing that’s something that they do and having that as an option would help,” Seligmann said. “I think I’m more willing to spend money on something that’s benefiting others.”
Ku said that achieving the goal of a fully nonprofit restaurant can be difficult.
“Coming into this industry, you realize before you have nonprofit endeavors there are more immediate needs, like better wages and healthcare benefits and 401k,” Ku said.
Ku said the partnership program has grown in popularity, quadrupling its monthly revenue since it began.
“We used to raise only $300 a month, so it’s been nice to see it grow,” Ku said. “We used to have to find people to give money to the first couple of times. Now it’s nice because they find us, and we have a roster of months lined up […] we’ve usually been able to raise somewhere in the $1200 to $1800 range each month.”
Ku said she is proud of how far the program has come and wants to keep helping out.
“All of the people who run these organizations are doing the work for a good cause. I’m excited about all of it.” Ku said.
Shannon Mohan (junior), said she goes to Joy with her friends almost monthly. When she found out about the cookie program, said she said she was inspired to contribute.
“That’s so cool! I gotta go grab those!” said Mohan.
Contact Ginny Tomlinson at gtomlinson@oxy.edu
