Luis Arocha was working in his family’s mortgage business when his friend, Tim, recruited him to join the board of directors of Café Hope, a new nonprofit organization. The idea was that Café Hope would find young people from difficult backgrounds and train them in the hospitality industry through running an actual café. Along the way, they’d mentor them. Then, they would help their students find a job with flexibility and get into college..

Luis originally thought he was going to be a board member. At the first meeting, though, Tim “volunteered” Luis to be the president. A few years later, Luis was so in love with the work that he resigned from the family business and became Café Hope’s full-time executive director.

Since Luis joined the organization, Café Hope has graduated more than 500 students. The restaurant is housed at the Timberlane Country Club in Gretna. Their students get an education in working the front of the house, then they switch to the kitchen. By the time they graduate, they are ready for placement in New Orleans’ biggest industries.

To his students, though, Luis is more than a boss. He’s a mentor and father figure. Things get tense in a hot kitchen; sometimes Luis is tough and the kids are tough right back with him. But they learn to treat each other with respect and navigate high pressure with positivity and productivity. His students become part of his family – they look up to him, often coming to him for advice when working out complicated
problems at home.

Running Café Hope means working with the board, ensuring compliance and raising the money necessary to operate. But Luis is also hands-on in the Café Hope restaurant. You can find him working the register, in the kitchen, or mopping the floor. He’s a long way from his family’s mortgage business, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.