We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Miranda and Salem Alcocer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica and Salem, what makes you happy? Why?
Love!

Starting our beautiful little family showed us that we can be the best version of ourselves and find it in the most authentic, simple and wonderful way, making it the fundamental basis of our happiness; that feeling allows us to share and capture it in our daily lives with passion, and gratitude even in adverse moments.

Why? Because life is so wonderful when you are with the right person, when you do what you are passionate about and enjoy doing it, when you eat a delicious wood-fired pizza and drink a good wine, enjoy the small and big details as much as you can no matter the current economic conditions. We value the sentimental. Being able to go out and enjoy nature on bicycle, feeling the air caressing your face, feeling free, being able to go out on a Picnic Dates™  with your favorite person. To live, and be in love with someone who loves you equally, admires you, respects you and motivates you is happiness for us.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Hi. We are Jessica & Salem, a married couple that makes up the duo behind Picnic Dates™.

Lovers of Picnic-type dates, which is why the name and the idea were conceived in the fall of 2016 for this great project and we want to be able to facilitate this type of experience by sharing the taste and detail to share a wonderful experience with our sophisticated kits. At the beginning of this incredible adventure, with great fear and uncertainty, we decided to give up our law and architecture careers to venture to have our own project where we will invest 100% of our efforts. Without savings or a minimum salary to support us, we faced difficulties in our finances, but rather than causing us problems as a couple, we became stronger, learning to face it together with love, holding hands and enjoying working together doing what we are most passionate about.

The project initially was to offer all the necessary elements to have a Picnic-type date, creating a unique and special moment, but in the spring of 2017 a dear friend challenged our potential by taking it to another level by adding us to a platform (Lady Multitask) that changed our lives giving a 360 degree turn to our project. Since we arrived in this incredible community, great doors have opened for us and great challenges have also arrived, leading us to be in constant evolution, but without ever losing our essence and personal touch that makes us authentic. The path has not been easy, but by remaining firm in our objectives, goals and dreams, we have managed to take firm and important steps such as starting to design and manufacture our own boxes and products, allowing them to exploit that side of Salem as an architect by profession and Jessica as a designer at heart.

One of our main objectives is to generate less waste by offering quality in the boxes that we design and make in such a way that they can be reused, giving them a second life as shelves or decoration. We take care of every detail that goes from the design, the measurement, and the creation, to the palette of colors and materials, that is why without losing our essence we are sure that we offer you the perfect option for your special celebration, and all kinds of occasion in which it is required to surprise those you love most. Our work has trancended borders from the Mexican Republic, and the United States, and other continents. We have been able to serve clients all over the world with special handmade products.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love to ride a bike in San Diego, starting with Coronado on its trails, and near the bay where we like to eat some dessert. We often continue our walk to the center of San Diego to Little Italy to eat a delicious pasta and pizza without forgetting to buy fresh pasta at the organic market, and from there we go to relax in Balboa Park where we enjoy the botanical garden, the art market, nature, and calm of this emblematic place.

In Tijuana we like to enjoy the culinary pleasures that our city offers us.
For breakfast we love chilaquiles, eggs, and coffee or fresh natural orange juice. Our favorite restaurants are in Vieko Chilaquiles, Briochegg, Mantequilla, Pan Nuestro, among others.

At lunchtime, we enjoy everything from a delicious wood-fired oven pizza at Vittorio’s, Giuseppis, Caccio, Tony’s, El Rincón Pizzeria, Horno 320, and an authentic Caesar’s salad at Caesar’s restaurant (where this world-famous salad was invented).

Our favorite for lunch or dinner is a place called Kool 52, where we met in 2014 and where we had our engagement dinner, we love this place.

A visit to Tijuana without tacos is not an official visit, so our favorite tacos are Jak Baak, Taco N Todo, and our vegetarian option at Veggiesmall Tj.

In Valle de Guadalupe. We also love to visit Rancho los Pintos Del Valle, a place that makes us feel at home and during the pandemic it became our safe place to find peace, and tranquility. Next door to La cocina de Doña Estela where it is always a delight to go for breakfast,

For an afternoon of wine and pizza we love Viña de Frannes and Lomita Mx is our go-to for a more romantic date, and is an incredible experience creating your own wine for that special date or moment in Concierto Enológico. Without a doubt we have the best of both Californias.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would like to give a shoutout to our clients, who have allowed us to be part of very special moments in their lives and hearts, without them we would not have lived each stage of ups and downs, changes and evolution in this beautiful project that is full of love for them. Many of them started as customers and are now friends.

To our families and friends who have supported us. Especially to Kevin & Anna Cavanaugh who have always believed in us, and have been there when there is cause for celebration, or difficulty, without losing faith in us and our abilities.

To our great friend Iván Salazar for motivating and encouraging us with confidence by guiding us with the most sincere and direct advice on the path of business. To our dear friend Gabriela Saga for being the first to see our potential and inviting us to be part of an important business platform called Lady Multitask, which has been an important boost in our entrepreneurial adventure.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/picnicdates

Facebook: www.facebook.com/picnicdates

Other: picnic.dates@icloud.com

Image Credits
Omar Montoya! www.instagram.com/omarmnty

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