Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Variedades La Oriental is a family-owned Salvadoran restaurant and Latin variety store located in North Houston. We operate a physical location, sell Central American products, offer a digital rewards program, and accept online takeout orders.

Privacy contact:

• Email: hello@variedadeslaoriental.com
• Phone: +1 (281) 741-1941
• Address: 11228 Airline Dr Ste A, Houston, TX 77037

2. What information we collect

We are a small, local business. We do not maintain an internal customer database. All personal information we collect is processed and stored by trusted service providers (primarily Square, which operates our point-of-sale system, rewards program, and online ordering). We, as a restaurant, access this information only when needed to administer the program or respond to inquiries.

2.1. In the restaurant

When you dine with us:

• Card payments: If you pay with a credit or debit card, Square (our processor) receives your card information. We do not see or store your full card number.
• Rewards program: If you join our rewards program, Square collects your phone number (required) and optionally your email address (you get 50 bonus points if you provide your email).
• Security cameras: We operate security cameras inside and outside the restaurant for security and loss-prevention purposes. Recordings are retained for a limited time and reviewed only when necessary.
• Verbal communication: If you give us your name or number for a phone order, we use it only to prepare and deliver your order.

2.2. On our website (variedadeslaoriental.com)

When you browse our website, we automatically collect:

• Your IP address, browser type, operating system, and device
• The pages you visit, how long you stay, the links you click
• Your general location (city/state) derived from your IP address
• Information through cookies and similar technologies (see Section 5)

You do not need to create an account to use our website. If you contact us via form or email, we save your message to respond to you.

2.3. For online orders (order.variedadeslaoriental.com)

Our online ordering is operated by Square. When you place an order, Square collects:

• Your first and last name
• Your phone number
• Your email address
• Your address (only if you provide it when placing an order)
• Your payment information (processed securely by Square; we do not see the full card data)
• The items you order and your order history

This information is also governed by Square's privacy policy: squareup.com/us/en/legal/general/privacy.

2.4. In the rewards program

If you decide to join VLA's rewards program:

• Required information: Phone number (we use it to identify you when you earn or redeem points, and to send SMS messages about your account and promotions).
• Optional information: Email address (you earn 50 points for providing your email, and we use it to send you offers if you opt in).
• History: Purchases made, points earned, rewards redeemed, and membership tier (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Orientado).

Points expire 18 months after your last activity. You can leave the program at any time by contacting us or replying "STOP" to any SMS message.

3. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate our business: prepare and deliver your orders, process payments, respond to your questions.
• Administer the rewards program: record your points, send rewards, calculate your tier.
• Communicate with you: send SMS messages about your rewards account and our promotions (if you signed up). If you provided your email, send you occasional offers via email.
• Improve our Services: understand how customers use the website and which dishes are most popular.
• Online advertising: show relevant ads to people who have visited our website (re-marketing) on platforms like Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You control whether this happens via our cookie panel (see Section 5).
• Security: prevent fraud, abuse, or misuse of our Services.
• Comply with the law: respond to valid subpoenas, court orders, or legal requests.

4. Who we share your information with

We share personal information only with the following types of third parties:

4.1. Service providers

The main ones are:

These providers have their own privacy policies. We recommend you review them to learn more about how they handle your data.

4.2. Legal compliance

We may share personal information in response to a valid legal request (subpoena, court order, law enforcement requirement), to protect VLA's legal rights, prevent fraud, or when necessary to respond to an emergency involving someone's safety.

4.3. Business transfer

If VLA is purchased, merged, or sold, customer information may be transferred to the new owner, subject to this same privacy policy or an equivalent one.

5. Cookies and tracking technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies (pixels, tags, local storage) on our website. When you visit our site, you will see a panel where you can choose which types of cookies to accept.

Categories of cookies we use:

5.1. Strictly necessary (always active)

Required for the site to function: loading pages, remembering your language preference, maintaining sessions. Cannot be disabled.

5.2. Analytics (Google Analytics 4)

Help us understand which pages are most popular, how long visitors stay, and improve the site. The information is anonymous and aggregated — we don't know who you are as an individual. You can disable these in the cookie panel.

5.3. Marketing and advertising (Meta Pixel, Google Ads, TikTok Pixel)

Allow you to see VLA ads on Facebook, Instagram, Google, and TikTok after visiting our site (this is called "re-marketing"). You can disable these in the cookie panel and you'll never see these retargeted ads.

6. Your rights over your information

You have the following rights regarding the information we hold about you:

6.1. Access

You can request a copy of the personal information we have about you.

6.2. Correction

If your information is incorrect or outdated (for example, you changed your phone number), you can ask us to correct it.

6.3. Deletion

You can ask us to delete your personal information. If you do, your rewards account will also be deleted and you'll lose any accumulated points.

6.4. Opt out of communications

• SMS: Reply "STOP" to any text message we send to stop receiving them.
• Email: Click the "Unsubscribe" link in any email we send.
• Rewards program: Contact us to leave the program.

6.5. Opt out of tracking for advertising

Use the cookie panel on our website to disable marketing cookies. You can also configure your browser to send the "Global Privacy Control" (GPC) signal, which we honor automatically.

7. California residents

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including:

• Right to know what personal information we collect about you and who we share it with.
• Right to request deletion of your personal information.
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

We do not sell or share personal information in the traditional sense, but the use of marketing cookies (Meta Pixel, Google Ads, TikTok Pixel) could be considered "sharing" under the broad definitions of CCPA/CPRA. If you want to opt out, disable marketing cookies in our cookie panel or email us.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@variedadeslaoriental.com.

8. Children's privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under 13. We do not intentionally collect personal information from children under 13. If we discover that we have collected information from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will delete it.

If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at hello@variedadeslaoriental.com and we will delete it.

9. How we protect your information

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information:

• All payments are processed through Square, which uses bank-level encryption and complies with PCI-DSS standards.
• Our website uses HTTPS (SSL/TLS encryption) on all pages.
• We limit access to personal information to staff who need it to do their job.

No system is 100% secure, but we do what we can to protect your data.

10. Information retention

We keep your personal information only as long as we need it:

• Rewards program: while you are enrolled, plus a reasonable period after your last activity (points expire after 18 months).
• Online orders: per Square's retention policy (generally up to 7 years for tax and accounting requirements).
• Communications with you (email, forms): up to 2 years, unless more time is needed to address your inquiry.
• Security recordings: generally 30 days, unless needed for an investigation.

11. Links to third-party sites

Our site may contain links to external sites (DoorDash, UberEats, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We recommend you read their policies before providing them with information.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date at the top. If the changes are significant, we will announce them on the website. We recommend you review this policy periodically.

13. Contact

If you have questions, concerns, or want to exercise any of your rights, contact us:

Variedades La Oriental
11228 Airline Dr Ste A
Houston, TX 77037
Phone: +1 (281) 741-1941
Email: hello@variedadeslaoriental.com