Title: Owner
Company: La Flor de Izúcar Café
Location: Brooklyn, New York, United States
Alfredo Torres, owner of La Flor de Izúcar Café, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Business Owners for dedication, achievements, and leadership in hospitality and food services.
Having worked in his family bakery since he was just 10 years old, Mr. Torres has established himself as a well-regarded pastry chef over the past 13 years. His parents opened La Flor de Izúcar Café in 1990, primarily selling sandwiches, donuts, baked goods and coffee. In 1995, his mother added Mexican menu items to better serve the desires of the local community, and Mr. Torres later began contributing as well. His father supported his eagerness to stay involved in the family business, as that is a relative rarity in the industry.
After pursuing more traditional training as a chef, Mr. Torres took his first job outside of the family restaurant as a pastry cook for the Union Square Hospitality Group in 2012. Through this organization, he gained foundational experience in making food not only for restaurants, but also for bars, catered events and more. Following that, Mr. Torres became a pastry chef at Firmdale Hotels PLC in 2018. This group operates three hotels in New York, as well as a number of locations in London.
As the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in 2020, Mr. Torres’ father fell sick with cancer and was unable to continue running the family restaurant. Mr. Torres took over La Flor de Izúcar Café that year and began to implement his own fusion style. Soon, he had created an entirely new menu featuring fresh flavors while simultaneously adding delivery options through multiple apps. Successfully adapting to the challenges of the time, Mr. Torres also expanded the restaurant’s social media reach and increased marketing efforts through platforms like Google, Yelp and Facebook. He takes a holistic approach to his ownership of the restaurant, managing every aspect from designing the physical menus to taking his own photos to be featured on social media posts and in advertisements.
Among his career accomplishments, Mr. Torres is particularly proud of how his efforts have paid off in continued growth for La Flor de Izúcar Café. Since he took over the restaurant five years ago, it has achieved its greatest sales success since its inception. Mr. Torres boasts a menu where 90% of the food is made from scratch, including sandwich bread and cakes. He credits his achievements to both his experience with the family-run business from a young age and his opportunities outside of La Flor de Izúcar Café, as well as his youth, drive and strong work ethic. Additionally, Mr. Torres emphasizes the importance of his ability to rely on his employees and his commitment to treating those employees well. He views his workers as essential and believes in valuing them rather than taking advantage of them.
Mr. Torres’ performance in the field was born of thoughtful professional training and education. While working at La Flor de Izúcar Café as a teenager, he obtained his high school diploma from Fort Hamilton High School. Subsequently, encouraged by his father, Mr. Torres attended the Institute of Culinary Education. In 2011, he earned certification from that institution in baking and pastry arts.
Beyond his career, Mr. Torres is a dedicated husband and a loving father to three children, aged 1, 3 and 6. Though he rarely takes time off, he enjoys playing handball, paddleboarding, playing video games and visiting arcades when he is able to. Mr. Torres harbors ambitious plans for the future of La Flor de Izúcar Café, aiming to greatly grow the brand and eventually franchise it to locations across the United States. He envisions building the brand into something as widespread and recognizable as Dunkin’ Donuts or Panera Bread. Mr. Torres plans to begin moving toward that goal by shipping bread from La Flor de Izúcar Café nationwide.
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