College is a common time to make plans for the future. For Linda Sanchez ’14, her time at UC Berkeley led her down a different path than she had imagined for herself.
Sanchez now co-owns Casa de Chocolates, a chocolate shop in Berkeley. But, before coming to Berkeley, managing a business wasn’t on her radar. Sanchez thought she might want to work in the realm of social justice and advocacy. She supported the DREAM Act, and as part of the DREAMer movement, was a vocal advocate for undocumented students. Later, upon graduating from UC Berkeley, Sanchez worked as a program director for a youth-serving nonprofit. “[The work] felt very values-aligned with me and like what I want[ed] to spend the next few years doing,” she recalls.
Sanchez says The Achievement Award Program (TAAP) award she received from the Cal Alumni Association was foundational to her decision to come to UC Berkeley. The award made a UC Berkeley education seem financially attainable. “[Receiving a TAAP award] gave me that confidence to figure out the rest of the money,” says Sanchez. “It gave me that confidence to be daring and a visionary.”
So, Sanchez arrived at UC Berkeley. Her passion for social justice work fueled her scholastic roadmap: major in political science, graduate from law school, and work as a credentialed lawyer.
But after taking some upper division classes, she had a big realization: this wasn’t the right path. She found that political science classes weren’t aligned with the vision she had for herself. “I wasn’t in love with my major,” says Sanchez. “I need[ed] something that also brings me joy.”
Sanchez decided to double major in Chicano studies. The decision opened up a whole new world for her. In the major, Sanchez learned about the relevance of world issues in addition to Chicano culture. She found a new community of peers and professors who were doing work that she admired.
The connections Sanchez made in her Berkeley ecosystem also led to her career shift into the chocolate business. Sanchez’s resident advisor, Arcelia Gallardo ’01, was a chocolatier. In 2010, Gallardo decided to open a chocolate shop in Berkeley with her business partner Amelia Garcia. For both Gallardo and Garcia, uplifting the Latinx and Indigenous origins of chocolate was a priority for their store, Casa de Chocolates. Mexico, Central America, and South America are major producers of chocolate, and chocolate is used in centuries-old cuisine that are still enjoyed today.
Looking also for ways to be a mentor, Gallardo decided to bring on both Sanchez and Sanchez’s friend Jesus Chavez ’13 to learn about the business process. As Casa de Chocolates got started as a pop-up shop venture, Sanchez initially just volunteered. Eventually, she transitioned to working part-time at the shop. During the week, Sanchez would work with social justice nonprofit organizations. On the weekends, she’d be in the chocolate shop, earning extra income and honing her management skills.
Sanchez later brought in her sister and brother to help at the store. “[It was] a community that we’re building around this store,” says Sanchez. “It was becoming a family business.”
Then, during the pandemic, Garcia decided to step down. She approached Sanchez with a golden opportunity to take over the business. “She told me, ‘I don’t want to sell, I don’t want to put it on the market,’” Sanchez recalls. “‘I don’t want someone [to run Casa de Chocolates] who doesn’t have the connection we have for this business.’” Sanchez, Garcia knew, had the cultural understanding and respected the origins of Casa de Chocolates.
Sanchez immediately accepted. It was a year and half before she owned the shop, following Garcia’s care to make sure all was in order before Sanchez officially took the reins. A “very family transaction” made business ownership a reality.
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