Morochos Cafe Brings A New Jersey Ecuadorian Business Story To Cuenca

Morochos Cafe began with a small, improvised operation in the back of an Ecuadorian-products shop in Orange, New Jersey. Today, the family behind it also runs a cafe in Victoria del Portete, Cuenca and exports products from Ecuador to the United States.

The business started when Gloria Morocho made empanadas and coffee for Ecuadorians visiting the shop. Gloria and her husband were among the first families from Zhina, Nabon, to settle in that part of Orange.

The family eventually moved from packaged Ecuadorian food and souvenirs into fresh food and coffee. Gloria's sons, Oscar and Meliton, took over when she returned to Ecuador for health reasons. They learned the operation, built systems, and added staff while keeping a deliberate mix of machine work and hand preparation.

A cross-border business

The family now has the original location, a location in Irvington, and another recently opened in West Orange, with 15 employees in the United States.

Their Ecuador expansion began in January 2025, when they opened Morochos Cafe in Victoria del Portete. The family also began looking more closely at Ecuadorian coffee and cacao after finding that the consistency of the products they bought for their U.S. locations was difficult to control.

The result is a business that links local production, a Cuenca-area cafe, and customers in the United States. The family now exports its own products from Ecuador to the United States rather than treating Ecuador only as a source of packaged goods.

Why expats may recognize the pattern

This is a familiar route for Ecuador-connected families: start with a small diaspora business, build a customer base abroad, then use relationships and knowledge from both countries to create a second operation in Ecuador.

The Cuenca location also makes the story practical for residents who want to support a business with a direct local and diaspora connection. The source identifies Victoria del Portete as the Cuenca location; it does not provide current opening hours or a street address.