It all started with a craving. Salem resident Shani Gonzalez longed to taste the Mexican agua frescas, a thirst-quenching fruit beverage that she grew up drinking. Her husband, Josė Gonzalez, understood the nostalgia and asked his mother for her recipe for the drink.
“We grew up on these fresh juices that we really couldn’t find anywhere in Oregon,” Jose says. “Everything is made from scratch.” After making the refreshing beverage, Jose was inspired to combine it with hard apple cider. The result was a selection of semisweet hard ciders unlike anything else he’d seen on the market in Oregon or elsewhere. From the outset, the family knew they had stumbled upon something special.
Adding Mexican Culture to Oregon’s Craft-Beverage Industry
The Gonzalez family launched La Familia Cider Company in 2017, getting canned cider inspired by typical agua fresca flavors like guava and hibiscus on shelves around the state within six months.
“It really is a blend of not only Mexican culture but also Oregon’s independence in the craft-drink industry,” José says. “We were really enjoying craft beer and cider, but at many Mexican restaurants and small taquerias, they didn’t have anything craft. I thought to myself, they’re missing out on a great opportunity.”
José attributes the rapid rise of the business to industry knowledge shared by Jeff and Lynda Parrish, owners of Portland Cider Company. La Familia continues to partner with the Portland cidery, using the facilities for production and working with the same bottling and canning companies they do.
Though the Gonzalez family initially wasn’t going to open a dedicated space for visitors, José found the fans wanted to sample ciders at a taproom. “People in this industry, they want to connect with you and your story,” he says. So after more than a year of logistics, La Familia Cider Company opened a flagship taproom in downtown Salem in July 2020, a location that includes indoor seating and an outdoor patio, and shares a space with Azuls Taco House.
Take a Sip in the Taproom in Southeast Portland
Following the success of the Salem taproom, La Familia looked for more ways to grow. José saw the perfect opportunity to expand while maintaining a family-run business when his son J.J. volunteered to move to Portland in 2024 to run La Familia’s second location.
The taproom — located on bustling Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard — features 29 taps, including La Familia and guest ciders as well as craft beers. Visitors also enjoy the inventive cider-based cocktails, like cidertinis and cideritas. Sample on-site or take home growlers of the subtly sweet flagship ciders — try floral jamaica (hibiscus), tropical guayaba (guava), pleasantly sour tamarindo (tamarind) or classic manzana (apple).
The walls of the taphouse are lined with works from Latino artists, and the food menu prominently features ingredients from other Latino-owned businesses in Oregon. You’ll find queso fresco from Don Froylan Creamery, chips and salsa from Hot Mama Salsa, and tortillas from Three Sisters Nixtamal.
La Familia isn’t done making a splash in the craft-beverage industry. The family recently dialed in a recipe for a drink that became such a popular seasonal pour that they now plan to offer it as a year-round staple: hardchata, a boozy take on the classic, creamy cinnamon-spiced drink. “We go a little crazy in our family for good horchata, so it’s always been part of our plan to offer this,” José says.
Family Values and Community Support
At its essence, La Familia is true to its name by being a company that is all about family. It’s not just sharing his mother’s recipes, it’s supporting people related to him by blood or community.
Watching his family work together in a business — one that creates something special that is shared with so many other families — is something that brings José a deep sense of pride. He reflects on his parents’ immigrant experience and the challenges they faced as they operated with courage. He says they told him that he could achieve the American dream. “We strongly believe that what we want to do is possible,” he says. “That’s the heart of it.”
Built into the company’s business plan are ongoing donations to organizations that fight against federal immigration policies resulting in family separation. A percentage of its profits go toward helping families with the legal immigration process through local nonprofit organizations.
“We thought that name was a big responsibility. We can’t name it ‘family’ without making sure that keeping families together is part of us,” José says. “We knew we had to do something forever.”
