Bolita

People

Emmanuel Galvan with 1 part-time employee

About

In 2020, Emmanuel Galvan, who had spent a decade working in restaurants, launched Bolita. He uses a small grinder, or molino, to make fresh masa in a commercial kitchen in Oakland. The core of Bolita is to share landrace heirloom corn with as many people as possible, and get people excited about masa and working with it. Bolita also offers tortillas, sopes, guisados, and salsas.

Sourcing

Corn is sourced through importers that prioritize sustainable farming practices and equitable pricing for maíz farmers in Mexico. Emmanuel gets most of his maíz through Masienda, in California, which works with cooperatives in Mexico; and Tamoa, based out of Mexico City, which works directly with each of the farms and buys surplus corn. At the farmers market, Emmanuel purchases produce from local Latinx-owned farms, including Avila Farms and Oya Organics.