Family-owned Salem brand expands to Portland with aguas-frescas-inspired ciders

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Salem cider company is expanding to the Rose City with sips inspired by aguas frescas, a refreshing drink that’s well known in Latin American culture.

La Familia Cider Company celebrated the grand opening of its Hawthorne neighborhood taphouse on Wednesday. Found on 3638 SE Hawthorne Blvd., the location is no stranger to Oregon’s hard cider brands. The space previously held Portland Cider Co.

JJ Gonzalez, who co-owns La Familia along with his father Jose Gonzalez, stepmother Shani Gonzalez and sister Jazzelle Gonzalez, will manage the new location. He told KOIN 6 the business co-packs its products with Portland Cider, and the relationship allowed his family to act on their pre-existing plans to expand to the city.

La Familia initially launched in 2017. JJ told KOIN 6 he had recently introduced Jose and Shani to hard ciders, and they were interested in putting a twist on the popular drink.

“They were kind of wondering if there… were any Mexican ciders in general,” JJ said. “I looked into it, couldn't find anything. From there, we just kind of came up with the idea to try to make ciders based off Mexican traditional aguas frescas.”

After years of selling their products at the Portland Saturday Market, brew festivals and other local events, the family opened their Salem taphouse in 2020.

According to JJ, the Salem community supported the business through the pandemic — and he believes the Portland community will do the same.

Similar to the original location, the new location will be family-friendly and pet-friendly. It will also offer cocktails and 29 taps, featuring six from La Familia. The brand’s year-round flavors are apple, guava, tamarind and hibiscus. The tasty seasonal flavors include mango and strawberry vanilla.

When it comes to food options, the taphouse will offer a small menu of Mexican bites.

Customers who visit the new spot through Sunday, June 9, will receive a raffle ticket with a chance to win a trip to Las Vegas.