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Middletown Mayor Joseph DeStefano (C) holds the ribbon that Alan Ortiz (2nd R) and Itzel Flores (R) cut at the opening ceremony of their new restaurant, House of Birria, in Middleotown, N.Y., on Jan. 13, 2024. Cara Ding/The Epoch Times
Childhood friends Alan Ortiz and Itzel Flores have known each other since they were 5 and grew up playing soccer together in Middletown before going on separate career tracks after college.
However, the pandemic and all the changes it brought prompted them to take a fresh look at life, which led both to quit their jobs for food truck entrepreneurship.
