We Started A Burrito Spot In A Home Depot Parking Lot – It Brings In $2.3 Million/Year
Lydia Holmes and John Clark started LJ's Lil' Café, a breakfast burrito stand in a Home Depot parking lot in Orange County, California in 2021. After an Eater LA article featured them, their business exploded from $200-300 daily sales to over $1,000 per day, and they now generate $2.3 million annually.
Summary
Lydia Holmes (36) and John Clark (33) opened LJ's Lil' Café in September 2021 in a shed located in a Home Depot parking lot in Orange County, California. They chose this location for its built-in foot traffic and low overhead costs compared to traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants. Initially conceived as more of a hot dog stand, their breakfast burrito quickly became the star menu item, featuring 25 extra-crispy tater tots and a full cup of cheese per burrito. The business started slowly, generating only $200-300 per day in sales, with about half coming from Home Depot employees. Their breakthrough came when a freelance writer discovered them on Yelp and wrote an article for Eater LA. This coverage transformed their business overnight - they went from $300 in sales on Thursday to their first $1,000 sales day on Friday after the article published, and haven't dropped below $1,000 daily since. The sudden popularity created operational challenges, with weekend wait times reaching 2-3 hours and the need to implement a callback system for orders. On weekends, they now serve 600-700 burritos daily. The couple financed their initial shed through a family loan and later obtained a bank loan through John's grandparents' duplex refinancing. They've reinvested profits back into the business, paid off loans, and taken care of their team. The business has allowed them to scale and open additional locations, though maintaining consistency across locations remains a challenge since they can't be present at all sites simultaneously.
Key Insights
- The founders initially thought they would be more of a hot dog stand, with the breakfast burrito being just one item on their original menu
- A freelance writer discovered them on Yelp with only 13 reviews and wrote an Eater LA article that changed their business trajectory overnight
- After the Eater article, their sales jumped from $300 on Thursday to over $1,000 on Friday, and they never dropped below $1,000 daily again
- The founders had to implement a callback system during peak times when wait times reached 2-3 hours, taking customers' phone numbers and calling them when orders were nearly ready
- They obtained financing through John's grandparents who refinanced their duplex, allowing the couple to take on a traditional bank loan with set interest and monthly payments
Topics
Transcript
[0:00] I think the location at The Home Depot was one of the biggest sells for us. Just to have that built in foot traffic, where you have hundreds and hundreds of people walking past the store every day. So it enabled us to start and also gave us a lot of promise to be able to at least sell hot dogs and cheeseburgers and then whatever else we want to add on to that, to give our own little spin on whether it be sandwiches or burritos. I'm Lydia Holmes and I'm 36 years old. I'm John Clark, I'm 33 years old. And we started our business, [0:30] LJ's Lil' Café in a Home Depot parking lot in Orange…
Full transcript available for MurmurCast members
Sign Up to AccessMore from CNBC Make It
I'm A Teen Who Built A 'Can Cooler' Business — It Brings In $808,000/Year
19-year-old Mike Satterlee built CruiseCup, a double-can cooler business that generated $808,000 in revenue in 2025 by leveraging 3D printing and later transitioning to stainless steel manufacturing. He forgoed college to grow the business full-time, using AI automation to operate lean with minimal overhead while working 80-85 hours per week.
Why Brands Are Getting So Weird Online
Brands are adopting increasingly unconventional and playful online strategies to capture Gen Z's attention and spending power. Rather than traditional advertising, successful brands participate authentically in internet culture, position themselves as identity tools, and engage in genuine conversation with audiences—a shift exemplified by companies like Duolingo and Good Girl Snacks.
Here’s why Kevin O’Leary thinks college is still worth the money
Kevin O'Leary argues that college remains worth the debt primarily because of the networking and lifelong relationships formed, rather than the academic content itself. He also notes that creative fields like content creation, photography, and video editing have become highly lucrative career paths in the social media and AI era, with professionals earning 10x more than a decade ago.
I Bought An Abandoned Church For $45K & Spent $194K Making It A Home
A woman purchased an abandoned 128-year-old church in Michigan for $45,000 and invested $194,000 in renovations to transform it into her dream home, a 'chouse.' She completed major structural work including re-roofing, rewiring, and leveling the floor while repurposing original church elements like pews and stained glass windows, with plans to eventually convert the adjacent parsonage into a bed and breakfast.
How Imax profits from theaters it doesn't own
IMAX is experiencing record profitability despite owning only one theater, generating $410 million in revenue in 2025 through two main business models: content solutions (12.5% of box office receipts) and technology licensing via revenue-sharing agreements with theater chains. The company's success hinges on its brand reputation and audience demand for the IMAX experience, which has created a self-reinforcing cycle benefiting filmmakers, theaters, and IMAX itself.