Two years ago, we told you how Ladyville village lost a beloved resident, 38-year-old Oren Velasquez, the co-owner of Breda O's Pizza.
Velasquez was a community-minded businessman and entrepreneur who lost his life at the end of July 2020 when armed robbers stormed their property and held him and his son up at gunpoint.
Since then, his widow, his son, and their staff reopened the business for daily operations, and over the weekend they celebrated a significant milestone. Today, our 7News team stopped by to learn more about the grand opening of the restaurant and bar that "Breda O" would have participated in if his life wasn't senselessly cut short. Daniel Ortiz has that story:
On Saturday, October 1st, the Management, and staff of Breda O's Pizza made a major transition. They opened the doors to their new headquarters, a business establishment they affectionately call Breda O's Pizza Palace.
It is the end-state of the business venture between the late Oren Velasquez and his wife, Emelda. The dream was to transition from their small pizza parlor to a full restaurant and bar.
The couple was working diligently toward this objective, but on the night of July 27, 2020, Velasquez was taken from his family when criminals targeted the business. He was shot and killed during an armed robbery of his business place while he and his son were closing up for the day.
2 years later, his wife and son have labored to see this upgrade through to completion.
Emelda Velasquez - Wife of the Deceased/Business owner
"It's two years now, and the road was long, and I never thought that I would have reached here at this moment. But, I did it, and I am very happy that I reached this far, where we are now."
Jaheem Velasquez - Son of the Deceased
"I remember we were working Sunday to Sunday, as my mother mentioned earlier. Sometimes, we go home at 1 a.m. in the morning or 12 a.m. in the morning to prepare and make the place look good."
Most of the architectural designs, the decoration, and the furniture choices in the restaurant and bar are the realization of Oren's ideas from his many discussions with his wife when he was alive.
Features of his personality are also tattooed into the building's decoration as a daily reminder to the members of this family business of the larger-than-life personality that was a key feature of Breda O's Pizza.
Jaheem Velasquez
"Everything was his idea. Sometimes, I would tell my mom, "Let's do this.' Switch things around, but she refuses. She would say, 'No, this is what your dad wanted. So, this is what we're gonna do."
The journey to Sunday's grand opening was a struggle for the Velasquez family and their staff. Most of the heavy lifting happened shortly after "Breda O's" murder. So, they had to cope with loss and grief and the unending financial challenges brought by the pandemic, which forced many businesses to close their doors. And also, Oren's widow was at the end of a pregnancy with twins.
Emelda Velasquez
"The whole reason why my husband didn't want me to work is that when I am pregnant, I am sick for the entire nine months. But, I don't know, thanks to God. He always gives me the health and strength that I need. I wasn't sick at all during the pregnancy. I had to teach my workers how to do everything in the shop because it was the responsibility of my husband and me to run the shop. It was hard. It was rough, but I made it."
Jaheem Velasquez - Son of the Deceased
"Watching my mom struggle after my dad passed was really hard because the funeral bill was a lot. I watched my mom break down. I saw her holding in her tears personally. I saw her holding it together with all that was going on. And I said to myself, I cannot be weak."
Jaheem's maturity as a young man had to speed up so that he could become the helping hand that his mother needed the most.
Jaheem Velasquez - Son of the Deceased
"I was only 14 at that time, but I said that I had to make a stand. I am not a man yet, but I am growing into a man. I had to make myself grow into a young man from that day on. So, from that day, I made an oath to myself and to my dad to stick by mom's side no matter what and help with whatever I can do."
While the opening of the restaurant and bar is much cause for celebration, Oren's absence from his family's life also has a real-time effect on the financials of the business and their banking institution. His widow has to consider a name change of the company, something she wants to avoid unless it is the very last resort.
Emelda Velasquez
"That's still in process. The papers haven't come out. We have our lawyers. Everything that we have, my husband and I, is between - it's in my name and his name. The business is in both of our names, but they are still giving us problems because he passed. They want us to either the name or we have to go through a lawyer. I didn't want to change the name. So, we got our lawyer."
"Many days I went there and spent hours talking to them, trying to convince them why should have my own stuff. At one point, they even froze the account because they said that my husband is not there to sign. But, it is in - I know it's my husband's account, but I am on it as well."
Jaheem Velasquez
"We put a lot of work into this, so much work that at some point, we felt like giving up because sometimes the pressure is very stressful. Having just one source of incoming coming in, it is very hard for my mother because she has four children and two babies that are twins."
Despite all those challenges, Emelda and her son are focused on the continued growth of the business and the potential returns on their family's investments.
Jaheem Velasquez
"Upstairs here can be rented out for birthday events and some special occasions. We do cater to it."
Daniel Ortiz
"What's the next step for you guys in terms of expanding and seeing that the bar and the restaurant become very busy places? I'm pretty sure that you all want to be either sold out or not have any space to accommodate guests. I'm pretty sure that's what any business person wants."
Emelda Velasquez
"That was Saturday. This Saturday, I wasn't outside to see anything, but the feedback, the text messages, the calls, the congratulations on Facebook, the people who meet me - some of whom I don't even remember - the feedback that I get from them, I really thank you guys for the support."
Jaheem Velasquez
"Our customers, I must say that we're really thankful for our customers for their continued support, Breda O's Pizza wouldn't be what it is right now."
If you want to support Breda O's Pizza, you can call telephone number 602-3611 to place orders or book reservations.
