Latino-owned small businesses have struck gold — and are growing faster than the competition, according to a new study.
The average revenue of Latino-owned restaurants, retail stores, construction companies and other small businesses in the US has skyrocketed by 46.5 percent in the past year, surpassing earnings growth in non-Latino businesses by as much as 12 percent, according to an annual study by online lender Biz2Credit.
New York ranks third behind California and Texas in the number of Latino-owned small businesses and has been a big part of the national boom, which is a reflection of the growth of the US Hispanic population in general.
“This is the American Dream for us,” Kenia Castillo, a Dominican native who operates Inwood’s busy Canave restaurant with a staff of 15, told The Post. Castillo, who runs a second establishment elsewhere in the city, opened this venture serving Latin-infused cuisine about two years ago, and is amazed at her luck. “We keep getting busier and are now looking at expansion,” she added.
A surge in approvals and access to loans from the Small Business Administration and other lenders has contributed to the good fortunes of Latino commerce in a strong economy. And many in the Latino business sector are mostly shielded from the downsides of the tariff wars, which have hurt manufacturers and other large enterprises. Analysts also note that overall economic indicators for large sections of the Latino population have been steadily rising for a generation.
“Yes, conditions are certainly better for our community than a generation or so ago,” said Castillo, who has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Baruch College.
The average revenue of Latino-owned US businesses improved greatly in 2019, increasing to $479,413 from $327,189 in 2018, according to Biz2Credit’s study.
Credit applications for the sector have jumped by 23 percent in the past year.
“The growth of Latino businesses is undeniable, and will undoubtedly increase as this important group becomes a larger section of the population,” said Manuel Chinea, COO of New York-based Popular Bank.
Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit, who handled the latest study of 3,000 Latino-owned businesses nationwide that utilized the lender’s platform, said that the numbers for Latino businesses in New York City closely paralleled the national figures.
By 2050, Latinos are expected to comprise some 30 percent of the nation’s population, compared to 18 percent today. New York’s Latino community, now nearly 28 percent of the city’s population, could jump even further than the national percentage, according to the demographic indicators.
This feel-good surge in Latino fortunes is felt outside the city, too. In Geneva, NY, Rafael Diaz, who owns the El Morro restaurant, said he is seeing an uptick in business as well.
For Castillo at Canave, the long hours, risks and hard work are well worth it. “We are very happy, and pleased with this success,” she said.