TABLE TALK: Carlos and Sandra Flores

It’s somewhat fitting Carlos and Sandra Flores are the first to share a table with a handful of guests for our inaugural Table Talk. After all, it was only two years prior when Carlos strolled into our Brunch with his first-ever batch of his ‘insane’ hot sauce. Carlos says he brought his ‘insane’ sauce with him that day because someone had asked to try it — they loved it — and since then, he and Sandra have continued to hand produce, package, distribute and market what has now become No.7 HotSauce for the very same reason they started, someone had asked to try it.

Part of the reason for No.7 HotSauce’s success is due not only it’s natural ingredients and preservatives with no added colourings, sugars, or salts, but also and more importantly, Carlos and Sandra say they owe their growth to building caring relationships with local vendors.

One guest, a friend and fellow food entrepreneur Maria, attests to their caring attitude:

“Carlos and Sandra’s success comes from who they are”

laughing as she continues:

“there was this nut job [Carlos] who didn’t even know me and he was smiling and waving at me to come into his shop and when he noticed I had a broken foot, he physically left the store in a blizzard and impeded traffic to cross the street to ask if I wanted a hot drink”

After finishing our Taco Trio’s and trading some more ideas on the challenges local small-businesses face in the food industry, Carlos and Sandra left the Dep with the feeling that focusing on one idea is not as ‘insane’ as it sounds.

 

***No. 7 Hotsauce can be found at over 50 local shops and restaurants across the GTA including The Big Carrot, Fiesta Farms, Caplanskys Deli, Sanagan’s Meat Locker, Burrito Burrito and Butcher’s Son — No. 7 first official vendor — to name a few. Carlos and Sandra also own and operate Cafe Con Leche in the Junction Triangle.***