Candy’s Tortillas

1984

Business Lending

Pueblo

In 1982, amidst a challenging economic environment, the Colorado General Assembly recognized that small businesses throughout the state were not reaching their full potential due in large part to lack of access to capital. House Bill 1240, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Richard A. Lamm, authorized CHFA to provide financing for small and moderate-size businesses. In 1984, CHFA launched its first business lending program called the Quality Investment Capital Program (QIC).

Candy’s Tortillas was among the first businesses to receive fixed rate financing through the QIC program. The Pueblo-based, family-owned tortilla factory was originally started as a restaurant by the Estrada family in 1956. When customers began requesting their tortillas in stores, the restaurant expanded into a tortilla business. By the mid-1980s, they were experiencing significant growth.

“The money is important to us right now,” said Candy’s co-owner Anthony Estrada in CHFA’s 1984 community report. “We’re forecasting growth of about 40 percent a year. We’ve been getting aggressive in engineering and marketing and are going to put our energy into making a name brand product.”

Mr. Estrada and his siblings continued to operate the tortilla business until it was sold to Mission Foods in 1994.