Home for the summer from college, Sophia Aquino was distressed to see her grandmother’s Silver Spring restaurant, La Posada, was struggling.
Her family chalked up the downturn in diners to the lingering aftermath of COVID-19 and ongoing Purple Line construction in the area.
So Sophia and her cousin Brianna decided to use their social media skills to give business a boost.
In a now-viral Instagram post, Sophia stands before the doors of La Posada, declaring, “I have 60 days to save my grandma’s restaurant before I go back to college.”
View this post on Instagram
“Not too long ago, this restaurant was packed,” she says in the video, but noting the falloff in business, she continues, “I think people just forgot this place existed.”
Prior to her younger sister’s social media post, Jocelyn Acquino said there were days “when we would get no business at all.”
Five days afterward, business is booming, Jocelyn said, and the Instagram video had 145,000 views as of Thursday.
“It’s been amazing,” Jocelyn said. “I mean our community has really come together, we can’t thank them enough,” she said.
“We’ve gotten a lot of people who’ve reached out,” said Jocelyn, explaining that the decor is, in her words, a little outdated. “We’ve gotten a lot of people who’ve offered their help for their services,” she said, from painting to window treatments.
“It’s been such a joy to see my grandma’s restaurant be filled up, and everybody just loving the cooking that we grew up loving,” she said of the pupusas and Salvadoran specialties on the menu.
Asked about her grandmother’s reaction, “she doesn’t know social media, she barely even knows how to use her phone,” Jocelyn said with a laugh. “She didn’t expect this at all. She’s just so happy, and she’s so grateful.”
The viral video’s masterminds are not marketing or business majors. Sophia is studying biochemistry, on track for pre-med. Brianna is studying to be a nurse.
In the next week, to celebrate La Posada’s 20 years in business 鈥� and the World Cup 鈥� Jocelyn said they’ll be featuring some specials.
She believes the mood around the global soccer contest has also inspired people to swing by.
“I think the World Cup 鈥� having a lot of different cultures and different countries come into the U.S. 鈥� you’re more willing to try all these new things you’re seeing,” she said.
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