Paco's Tacos Journey of Perseverance and Passion with Seni Gonzalez

it help more more people of BOS I told my husband I'm going to go and work for Chick-fil-A it was not really the moment for me to have fun it was the moment for me to really Excel on life it's okay to fail because when you fail you learn from it what made you want to go and start a restaurant from South bin to Evansville and everywhere in between this is get in the show focused on the who your state and the incredible stories happening here today I'm Nate spangle founder of get Indiana and I will be your host for today's convers ation today I'm joined by SNY Gonzalez the founder of Pacos takaria an authentic Mexican restaurant that has expanded across Indiana since opening in 2014 syny was born in Mexico and moved to the us at the age of 14 settling in Chicago before eventually coming to Indiana where she pursued her dream of bringing authentic Mexican flavors to the Midwest her inspiring story combined with her passion for food and Community has helped make Paco Takara a local success and we're excited to see what the future holds uh we're going to have a fun conversation today SNY welcome to get in thank you thank you Nate for them by I'm super pumped so the original location is over on Keystone and Fall Creek and I drove by it like 10 or 15 times when I first moved to India and I was like there's just something about that place like it it's like right across from RNR which is also like a really good Wing Spot there and I was like you know what I need to stop in there and finally this might have been like a year after I moved here back in 2019 someone was like let's get lunch at pacas and I was like all right I'm in and it's phenomenal like I don't know if anyone has if you have had it yet like you need to stop by it is so good and then kind of like through the pandemic and through Co and all these fun like I saw I mean a ton of growth for you all right and like new signage up and new paint job on the building and all that I'm like dang things are rolling so I'm I'm pumped to get into this but before we get into where you are currently and the planets for the future let's talk a little bit about your background and and how you ended up in Indiana cuz uh I mean you as we said you were born in Mexico yes and then when you were 14 you came to Chicago yes that's right uh what brought you guys to Chicago my aunt lives yeah in the serms uh and I came with her she got a baby and I came to help her with a baby and uh supposedly to start school and ended up that I start move that I came here to Indiana to live with one of my uncles here I guess by that time I was 15 when I moved here to Indiana so you you moved to Indiana when you were 15 yes did you like leave your family behind in Mexico well not really actually my I got raised mostly by my grandma so we always came here to United States for vacations to visit the family at that time they sent me here to Indiana and stayed with my uncle my grandma she will come and get me at that time I I ended up staying here for a longer time and and that's when you indis little bit yes I was here inis what part of the city Westside I in the west side yeah what high school um I didn't went i w I went to um Norwest Norwest Northwest the space Pioneers yes yes okay wow and I got kicked out no I got kicked out because I kind of at that time when I started going to high school is H I had a baby at that time I become mom a very young age and I was like okay I got to go to school and I lied on my uh birth certificate I apologize for that but I really want to go to uh to to a school and they find out that I can lie on my on my certificate and I was very sad of course cuz I really wanted to finish uh high school and I start going to the Exel Center is the after hours school oh man that was uh your 15 so what freshman or sophomore I was actually at the time I was 18 you 18 and they found out like hey you're you're not yeah yeah you're you're not 16 so they find out because they called to my school back in Mexico and of course they find out that that age so I start going to uh Excel Center so you have have a child and you're 18 trying to finish high school and you have to go to an after hour school are you working what else are you doing with your free time I was actually I got married very very young as I mentioned I was helping my ex-mother-in-law grocery store their family is from El Salvador Central America and I was helping her at that store and I was mostly at home with uh with my with my son yes how old your son now he's 24 that's so awesome okay that's that's really cool we're going to get I've seen I've uh doing my research on social media right like uh definitely Rockstar mom like always talk talking about your kids so so you're how old at the time 18 19 I was at the at that time I was 18 I got my baby at the age of 16 16 so 2-year-old finishing up high school how long did it take you to finish school I didn't finished I didn't finished cuz to this day to this day I haven't finished let me tell you yes I haven't don't don't I I cannot feel EMB burst and at the same time it's like well you know what I've been taking programs I've been doing my own growth my own education programs I've been in a school I've been like okay is that kind of like a long story but um so I went back to school to de sal Center to finished and I was working at Radio Latina I was sales executive there so I at that time I was a single mom of three yeah yeah and I was like okay I was actually the third top salesperson in in radio Latina at that time what's the company uh radio Latina Continental broadcast um radio Latina 100 point so you're selling ad you're you're selling ads on the radio so like who who's advertising on on radio Latina wanat store I believe you you know their tacos too oh yes absolutely Wan many like Toyota um auto dealership and many companies and you're the number three salesperson for all of that uh for some time I was the third yes I want that turn so you're working in radio you're a mother of three and you're trying to finish that's a lot to balance it it was kind of a lot and so I was doing great with myself and my boss one day called me and he was like hey syny bar Simpson that I love that man H he he gave me like a big opportunity for my kind of like professional growth uh and he said s your sales are going down what is going on and I was like well I started a school and I'm just trying to stay focused on everything the kids the school and of course the sales and he was like well your sales are going down you have to think or either like you canot provide to your family or or you stay focused at school and I was like oh my gosh what I'm going to do because I have no family here in Indiana I was here by myself with my kids at the time and um I was like okay well I guess the school has to wait school goes to the back I mean yeah you you can't you have the kids you can't you put them to the back burner right and then you have to provide for your family for self everything so yeah I mean the natural like one to get pushed to the back burner school cuz you have to go and you know pick your sales back up and work how long were you with that company uh five years five years so that was what year to what year 2009 to 2011 20 uh 14 14 when I opened Pacos okay so you're you were working in radio selling broadcast or selling advertising through radio broadcast what made you want to go and start a restaurant as I mentioned I was shopping my ex-mother-in-law in her grocery store then after that I guess she saw something in me that one day she told me and the father of my kids uh you guys have to think about your future and I'm thinking to give you guys a business and um is this the business is about this she bought the business and she handed the key to me and she said well syny uh you're going to take a care of the business and I was only 18 uh at the moment and I was like okay it's fine I got it like it was so normal for me I didn't like overthink or I was not even scared what was the business it was a western wear clothing store okay Western Wear heck yeah hats and everything some boots maybe all right okay where was it at it was on uh lafi Road in 38th Street well on the way is that like the Lavia Square Mall area like right in there okay so you're you're 18 you're running that store and that was before you went to so that was your first kind of experience as a business owner how did that go it went amazing it went amazing I got um the opportunity to grow kind of grow that business things were over the years went a little bit with challenge at the marriage and we ended up separating after some time I handed the key to the father of my kids and I started cleaning houses like for probably like two weeks I was there cleaning houses and of course it was a little bit different I like it and I love it because it make you like also realize like a lot of things like hey what I get to do what I really want to do two weeks later I quit and after that a friend of mine that he met me when I was having the Western work clothing store he told me like hey um so we are hiring a DJ for radio Latina and I was like okay I don't think I have the voice to be a DJ but you know what I I mean I can apply for it and he helped me to get a a meeting uh with Bart Johnson the director of radio Latina and I came to the interview B said well you hired and I was like okay how much I'm going to make uh and he said like $8 an hour I was like well I don't think I can make that because I have three kids I have to provide for them it was not really the moment for me to have fun it was the moment for me to really excel in life and my friend Raphael he said well well we don't get her to be on sales in the area of sales because we need some people there and my boss said like okay yeah because my friend said like she used to have a clothing a clothing store and she knows how to do sales and mik can help so they gave me the opportunity I last five years there I it was a great platform for me it helped me a lot to develop that a little bit more the professional part but also the network of meeting great people and amazing people I help people to grow their business I grow myself it was just beautiful the path that that experience was very beautiful for me and so you came in there thinking you're interviewing for a DJ job $8 an hour to be the the the voice of uh radio Latina and then you end up walking out of there as a salesperson yes with like I mean when you run your own business you're ultimately like a salesperson right like you're sales HR marketing you're the whole nine yards but now you're you're out there talking to these business owners and you know marketing departments or whatever to get them to spend money with you all yes and then so 5 years of that that seems like a crazy opportunity to be given right where it's like you come in there for for a DJ job like what do you think the reason that they decided to give you the opportunity was I think it was because of my friend Raphael uh he said like oh she has the experience on sales she used to have her own business selling clothing but I think it's more than that it's like people can notice people can notice your body language your way of thinking people can notice exactly where you add what what kind of you want and especially your personal with that personality people see it like oh this person has some potential we can help and I feel like it it is like that in life if people notice something different about you and you really have that mindset people is there to help you to achieve some some things and they're willing to take a bet on you right where they're like hey like what whatever it is whether it's DJ or sales like we want send on our team we think she's going to be a rock star wow and what did that opportunity mean to you like what were your I mean you were cleaning houses you're like no this isn't this what I want to do what were your like it was go do this or what other options did you have i at that moment I didn't really have that is a very good question because usually when I do podcast I I don't get these questions asked it was not a lot it was actually the moment when the Latinos we were going through a hard time here in Indiana because we didn't have that license that people that we were indument and undocumented at that moment so I didn't even have my license my driver's license it was not much at the moment but I guess God put you in the path where you have to be it's always like that everything is so perfect it's like amazing how it works out like that right and it's like it just worked out the way it was supposed to work out and then you were you know a top sales producer for five years and then how do you get to the like you know well it took me some time it was not on the that five years but my first year I made like 11,000 which was nothing for a single mom was you brought home $1,000 that first that first year $8 an hour might have been more than that probably probably but you know what that second year I made like three or four times more and which had to feel pretty good yes and then I kept growing especially this is like late 2000s early 2010s it's like radio is good but it's also not like it wasn't like you're selling like it's like radio was slowly on a decline we had um Jeff sman the founder of Ms Communications he was on and he talked about this like progression of radio where it was like like it's not like you're selling in the radio Heyday in the 1990s it's like it's still a hard thing to learn to do yes um and so you do that for 5 years yes and where does the idea to start a takaria come from well I was thinking again like what I'm going to do I need to build a future for my S and for my kids and this is very beautiful one day one morning I don't remember months before I somebody came to me because I was always having the mindset of having my business again and I I talk to friends like hey we should open a business we should do something and a lot of people like oh I have this great business idea yeah but it's like getting to the actual action part is the hard part it is it is and I remember my I I remember my friend r i we call him his name is Israel but we call him R and I was like hey we should invest together and he was kind of interest in investing and we went to see some places and okay probably restaurant Pro probably something else somebody told me about this location on Keystone and F Creek that it was a Takia that the owners were trying to sell it I was like one morning I woke up I didn't put attention when this person I don't even remember who told me about this location and one morning I woke up I said well today is my day today I'm going to look for my future today so I went to R Latina I checked my emails there right after that I went to my car and I started driving to Keystone and F Creek and I was like well I don't have the address of the takaria but I'm going to find the Takia I start driving I went to the corner on Keystone and 44th and I saw this takeria and I and I was like this must be it is this one so I parked I went inside and it was kind of cold I think it was like feu ready by the end almost by the end of February I saw a lady and as a cashier and I asked the lady are the owners here and she said no the owners are not here what do you need and I said well I heard that you guys are selling the business and I am interest on buying it and and she said well I am the owner and uh and she grabbed a piece of receipt and she put her number in the back and she said call me tonight so I call her that night and she said well I want this amount of money for the business and I said well I just have half of it is there any opportunity that I can give you monthly installment payments and she said yes let's do it literally like 10 days later I took off I take like I take ownership of look at you was like you know what I'm going to buy this from you I don't care like I don't know the books whatever like I I didn't even ask well I I I did ask but at the time I didn't have that awakeness of okay I'm going to do my plan and it's going to take me a month or 6 weeks or whatever to see the financial and see if I can make it do your due diligence and all that exactly I did none of that I just asked for that daily sales and that's it we make that document that legal document and the same day that I quit radio Latina I took overover Pacos and and just like you show up on day one and you're like yes how how long have the business been around 10 years now 10 years well how long had it been around before you took it over well uh the it was actually the first Taco Bell here in Indiana or Indianapolis it used to be a Taco Bell yes it used to be a Taco Bell and then Mr Dan and then I believe uh Latino took over and uh and had a Takia there I believe it was for 6 months and then this lady that I bought it from she was 9 months in the business oh so she had only owned it for 9 months she only owned it for 9 months so it was kind of like this revolving door of different ownership had it always been called Pacos it's always been called Pacos and it has story as well JC heart company is your answer to navigating the apartment rental Journey with almost 50 years of creating enjoyable living experiences in Indiana you'll be sure to find your new home site home you're going to find 30 communities in the best areas Indiana has to offer Hamilton County downtown Indie Bloomington just to name a few along with five brand new luxury communities visit home ISJ cart.

com Nate to find their list of location and reach out to one of their many dedicated leasing agents for a personalized tour tell them Nate sent you and they're they're going to take good care of you looking for a career in Property Management you'll also find a list of open positions on their website along with all the reasons why jcr is named one of Indiana's best places to work want to sneak peak into Life as a JC har resident or associate be sure to check them out on Instagram at HJC har or visit HJC har. com Nate one more time home is JC Hart oh well I guess we have to know the story absolutely when I took over and in the legal document that I can't change the name because I was making payments and she said until you pay me then you can change the name so it took me a year to pay her the whole month and I was like okay in a year I've been doing all this and people already know me I'm like getting more customers I have my grandpa is Paco my aunt my uncle is Paco and I have like five cousins that are Pacos and I was like you know it's meant to be I'm just going to leave it like that so that's how we live then it's that's fate too right it's like some of your family members are like that's so cool and she was like yeah but we don't want you change the name just in case like you know end up paying this off and I got to take it back and I already she already put all this work into Pacos too and like you get a year in you're like you know what it's a pretty good brand pretty decent brand awareness I feel like around the north side of Indianapolis wow so you quit radio Latina yes and then the next day same day same day same day I started at Pacos I I spoke to a friend of mine well not even weeks before uh immediately when I spoke to the lady and she said yes I went to talk to one of my friends that he had the experience of working in a restaurant and I was like hey um do you think you can help me for some time and he said yes I can help you to work uh and I I kept that cook that it was working with the former owner so I started with them too and myself I was so you have your your friend that has experienced you and then the cook from the previous yes okay so the three of you are just in there every day uh yes we were working every day but I noticed in a week I noticed that my friend he was kind of like taking some product from us and and I spoke to him like hey uh you you're not allowed to bring your big uh backpack cuz I noticed something and he got very mad and he said well if you don't let me I'm not going to continue coming to work and I was like oh my gosh I'm going to do this okay well you got to live so I week one you fire your friend who had the restaurant experience so then it's you who has no idea not no idea but like you don't have experience no experience and then the cook and the cook what's the cook's name Jose Lou Jose L he how long did he work there he worked for probably I would say eight months probably with okay so you do for eight months did you go hire someone new me and Jose Louis we were working and we were working hard every single day seven days a week no days from what time to what time uh around 8:00 a.

m. to 10 11 p. m. every sing single day and Jose Lis he used to like to drink it was a little bit hard because actually we were working for month and a half we were working great amazing and I got at a month and a half I got the opportunity to hire her a part-time cook and I hired this cook one day Jose Luis he didn't show up Nate I decide to open with that part-timer cook that he didn't have a experience on my business I decide to open that day we went to the pack we start preparing everything it was 10: in the morning I turned the sign on unlocked the door I prepared myself CU I was the only cashier and we were working and I used to have those registers I always talk about this because this this is very impactful story for me um those registers that you can buy in Costco or Sam and I was taking orders by hand my kitchen it's open so you can see how we cook and also you can order so we are very close the the cashier and the cook were very very close working so I was putting the orders it was one the first day that we had so many clients so many customers it was the very very first day that it was like many people inside of Pacos and I was taking orders I was so happy so excited and um I put the orders in the hood and I noticed that cook was not there behind me cooking but I kept taking orders and I thought like oh he's in the bag preparing something and I noticed that time passed by kind of longer and I was like okay let me go to the back and check I went to the prep area he was not there I went to the walkin cooler and he was not there and I looked to the back door and his apron was next to the back door and I was like how I'm going to do this I start crying and crying and crying with a pain in my heart and I was like God this is so hard why I'm just here as a single mom of three trying to make things happen like why is happening this way I was asking God of course I was question Fring and I Cal myself I kind of cleaned my tears and I went to the front and I was crying again and I was telling the customers like oh this is what happened and we don't have no one who can cook I have to give you your money back I give them all their money back I went to the front I locked the door and I went to the corner and I sat and I started crying again I was like what why this is so hard I cried so much that day I was thinking like how I'm going to do it now on I have this business I have the product but I don't have no one who can cook and I can cook and be as a cashier like you can't run the whole thing by yourself no no I cried so much I went home it was the very first day that I went home early and I got the opportunity to see my kids early of course I didn't tell them nothing that night I took a shower and I was taking a shower and I was thinking okay tomorrow is another day I got this tomorrow I show up and Jose Luiz he show up thank goodness you won't believe the day we had yesterday yes yes so I spoke to him of course he did it again but he did it when I had more more Cooks um hey it's really import I need you to show up like like we screwed if you do not show well actually when he did it again I this is my first time saying this as well I went to his home and I was looking for him like honestly cuz I I was having only one cook and one um it was and it was me and it was him and he didn't show up and I was like I told Serio Serio start like preparing everything I'm going to look for him so I find out his address and I went to his you're said hey get your ass to work buddy we got to we got we need you like this we're a team here yes like I think that the the mindset there you don't have a cook like especially on a day when like people are rolling in you're feeling so good and you're like I can't even make this food for you like that had to be so hard it was and the next day right the little bit of redemption and then talk to me about that that's 2014 talk to me about that Journey from 2014 to 2019 when things started to expand a little bit after that uh actually probably like another month I got the opportunity to hire Serio Serio is a a man he become like my uncle uh from sudad de Mexico and he had the experience with tacos so he become like a family to me and then he become my right hand side and we start changing the uh recipes and the menu making a lot of changes at the location I was doing probably like not probably I was doing $80 sales on Sundays $80 sales 80 $80 sales like only $80 yes like you were make you were opening up to make 80 I thought you were saying like eight no just $80 80 Sundays yeah at Sundays they were $80 sales on Sunday and you're paying out a c like you're losing money on Sundays on Sundays I was losing money yeah but some friends I I I at the moment I was I told my friends like oh we're selling like like very little and they were like you should close and come with us and have fun on Sundays and I was like well if I close on Sundays I'm going to go with my kids I'm going to stay with them but I'm not planning to close I am not cuz I know we going to we're going to make it we're going to make it and and takes time so I continue of course opening every single day until we line of people outside trying to get to make the order what year what year was that when you started to get like long lines and everyone wanted to get some it like a year like a year later so this would be 2015 yeah but it was a mess it was a mess cuz I couldn't do I can't only do a lot right um I was doing I was buying the product like three or four times a week and my Honda on my I was saying the other day 97 Honda but it was 2007 Honda Accord I was going to Restaurant Depot and get all this product put it inside of my car three four times a week I was paying the bills I was kind of doing the accountant part I was the cashier I was doing a lot we ended up doing great and last year we sell millions of dollars and it it's just been in23 2023 millions of dollars from $80 on Sundays to now a year of doing millions of dollars in sale that's incredible yes like that's and it and from the moment of you look out back and there's just an apron sitting there and your only cook is gone so now you guys are thriving with multiple locations of food truck like it's been super cool to see what do you think really helped influence that growth that cook experience leaving my kids that cook experience leaving me leaving my kids uh my three kids by themselves for a year mama was not there that makes the story of Pacos like more stronger and then we got like bro in the first year four times four times four breaks four yes and I didn't have the money to to buy the glasses for the door or for the windows I know the insurance cover it but a month later so it was like a big moments for Pacos where we were where I was like okay now I'm going to do this and the second or the third I think it was more like the third year second or third year I had I had only $164 and I need $5,000 for product and I only had $164 and I was like I'm going to go to Restaurant Depot and I'm just going to buy just a few things and again tomorrow is another day and so I feel like all that it makes to it makes me to have really like you know it's worth it because if I was able to excel this kind of way and people start loving our tacles and me changing recipes adjusting even though I had a mess when I'm telling you about the mess a mess of the culture especially with us Latinos we are very uh not organized and our people are Latino people is very hardworking people but at the same time they come for the check they don't really see the vision of the business like like it's like they work at a restaurant they're not trying to build a restaurant Empire I I see that and that's a lot with hourly employees right where it's like you're trying to harness and build this culture of a team like hey we can go like take the World by storm and take the state by and like you know expand all these locations and how you do that is by showing up every day andure so talk to me about the the hyper grow right where you get to 2019 and things are going well enough to open another location pandemic hits door Dash Uber Eats all that fun stuff like take me through the Journey of like growth of Pacos tacos we were doing great we were doing amazing and then Co hit I made a did you only have one store when Co hit yes okay so you have one location one location yeah we were doing amazing by the way just to be that is that is storn and Co head and I was like okay so that huge mentality I know I wanted to grow but I didn't have at that moment the mentality that I have right now the vision that I have for Pacos I had that feeling Within Me of yes we can make it big but I didn't really have that huge vision and Co head and I met this meeting with my with my my son that he's been helping me for so long actually is Luis the guy that You' been talking with uh Serio the guy who this is like your your like executive team it's like you your son and and Serio Serio yes that Serio he was a Tako like nothing to do with the professional part none of that like T like you just makes tacos yes that's all so that was my team I'm very proud of it and um and I was like okay we have to make adjustments so Serio now we have to like the time that we take to to give the the tacos to the to our clients it has to be reduced and now we going to do it this way and I put a bunch of notes and my son he understood at the moment like what kind of to do but also uh my husband he also helped a lot on on understanding more of the part of um door Dash and Uber eights and grab Hub and this is 20 this is co 2020 cuz you were you on it before or no I'm sorry were you on like GrubHub and door Dash in your before I was not I was actually planning to work with them but I didn't and when that Co happened I was like okay we got to go with them we have to start working with them and we were working immediately with them and I made those adjustments immediately and after that I was already with a plan to open in the second location actually we already had the place I was doing the renovations in the place one day the uh Health Department called me and said it well any they canot nute me because their office the health department office is very close like two minutes from Pacos and she said hey sy so we going to have to do the diligences that we have to do to really Advance on your PL to open sooner because people is going to need your food and I was like oh okay perfect so well that's good so instead of usually it's like hey you know all this red tape and things like like hey no we need to get this going because people are going to immediately yes so they also helped and uh we start like just growing at packles more and more and more can you give me like a relative like scale like Co hits and like let your how much did the sales grow during Co it was 100% you did so this is 2020 10 I believe 105% we grow and how much of that was door Dash Uber Eats versus coming into the store so I guess that helped us that people were still coming we're trying to like to leave people outside and put them six foot on distance and and if anyone seen the store it's like you could probably fit at 6 foot distance you could probably fit three people in there maybe it's not probably like five people inside and then another 15 people outside waiting to take their order but yeah I mean I got I gotta be honest also like uh door Dash R and graub they kind of took to cover and just to let you know two years 2022 I think it was 2021 or 2022 we paid all these grhop Uber Eats door Dash a million ion $20,000 in just commission wow so cuz I was going to get into this right where it's like it was really good for Co right because it kept your doors open and you're but then you start to get into it and it's like you're selling a $10 taco and they're taking you know three or four bucks of it and that commission you're paying a million dollars yes like Paco Taco the the because how many locations did you have at that point only two you had two locations and you're paying over a million dollars to door Dash GrubHub Uber Eats that's crazy yes it like what percent of like let's say if you make $10 uh all through there how much do they take they take around that 30% 35% which is a big margin cuz in food there's not there's already not a huge margin it it's a good margin uh restaurant business is is a very kind business it is hard it is hard it's super I think it's one of the hardest business to do but also is it's a break kind business CU it's so competitive the days of like there's only one taco place and because I can you know I don't go to necessarily just my neighborhood Mexican restaurant it's like I can go you know 10 15 minutes away whatever so it's like you're competing a lot like I think in in the relative neighborhood there right you have CU I would say like yours very specific like takaria is different than like a luciana's or uh what's the one over in uh in Broad Ripple like uh that's really it's fire uh I can't think of what it's called but like you know I go there and like oh I'm gonna get like three tacos which are amazing like we cannot overstate it more that the tacos are phenomenal there but it's competitive yes like very very and uh and I know so going through Co though sales are still growing margins are margins are getting eaten up a little bit I mean you're doing well enough to open a couple more locations right so give me the the timeline of where where the stores when you open them and where the stores were opened at I open packles the second location on 2020 2023 where was the second one at uh the second one is uh on the close to Southside it's Thompson and Emerson Thompson and Emerson okay yes and oh that's Way South yes right like down almost towards Greenwood mhm what made you want to open one there uh I was just driving by there and it was nothing there nothing like Quick Service like us and I thought that it was going to like a good location for for us and it's been okay it's being pretty decent is it hard where they were kind of far away like it's probably what 20 25 minutes apart yes is that hard to like run two restaurants with that are not that close to each other no not really okay that's good yes um okay so you got second one down there yeah like just south of 465 yes okay location three location three is on Michigan in 86 in Michigan Road mhm and that's right kind of BBU high school I just across the street yeah okay I've seen that one um and what year was that one 23 yes Solas here okay and then the next location the next location is just across from the Fashion Mall it was actually a previous uh Food business we took over uh and it was at the end of it's going to be a year actually uh December last year 2023 huge thank you to our friends at Greg's Pizzeria since 1968 Greeks have been serving up Delicious Pies all over Indiana from Fort Wayne to Crawfordsville down to Bloomington and everywhere in between Greeks Pizzeria is all over the state you need to go check out the video I posted of Mike Cole now Mike owns the Greeks in zionville he ran the mill race marathon in Columbus and broke the World Record for fastest marathon while holding a pizza it was a spectacle it was super awesome the man crushed it he ran a 3-hour and 15minute Marathon while holding a pizza that's faster than I run my normal Marathon it was an insane feat to witness give yourself a break for making dinner tonight pull out your phone go to Greeks pizzeria.

com and find the store nearest you order a large pepperoni you're going to be a hero for your significant other your kids whoever they are they're going to love you there's a reason they've been in business for 55 years they know what they're doing when it comes to Pizza go check out Greeks pizzeria. com yeah right up there by Keystone Fashion Mall okay and what's been you know the biggest lesson through opening and then you also have the food truck that kind of when when did the food truck open it was 2022 okay that's cool cuz I I think food trucks are hot and you pull them up anywhere so uh that's how I originally kind of like got really plugged in with you all was when we did first pitch Fest downtown at at White River State Park you guys were like really quick to respond and like oh my gosh yes we want to come be part of this so it was it was awesome so now you have four locations in a food truck what's different from running four locations versus you know when it was just like the one shop on 38th in Fall Creek well it's a lot is is is different especially I believe with the vision that I have for Pacos is is very different well talk to me about that what what's your vision for what Pacos can be I don't know how long it's going to take days but I want to be in Dubai I want to be in Paris I want to be in a different countries as well oh hell yeah and I don't know I don't know how how long it's going to it's going to take and I know it's going to happen I know it's going to happen if you had to compare what kind of restaurant do you want to grow like what would you compare it to like the grow of uh someone that we've seen like grow to hundreds and hundreds of locations Chick-fil-A Chick-fil-A yes heck yeah which they're great like service time like I think philosophy culture for like a fast food restaurant they are just like it's not even close like I almost compare like even though the time and like the setup is kind of like fast food of like McDonald's like that but like they're like the fast casual like they're at the top tier of that they are I love that that's a great embarrassing they have locations everywhere and they only operate 6 days a week which is crazy imagine they make you crave on Sundays and because they're close and it's like you only ever want Chick-fil-A and it's Sunday it's like oh but I respect them for sing like imagine what their profit could be like if they had one extra day a week like it's insane it I know it is and that's what is make you like to think that like the wow like oh I'm craving and the service I mean the service is great that culture is is great um back in 2020 when I was about to open our second location I thought about like okay how I'm going to grow Pacos cuz I have this within me this feeling of doing more and make it bigger and help more more people through the path of Pacos and I was like okay I told my husband I'm going to go and work for chick fing so I submit my applic to start working for Chick-fil-A in the kitchen and they accepted accept me to work for them what year is this 2020 you're 2020 you run a restaurant you run two No One Restaurant I was about to open the second one and you're like you know what I need to do I need to go work at Chick-fil-A yes I was like yeah I need to work for them cuz I really want to learn I didn't have no one who Teach Me Guide Me or a mentor or someone who come and tell like Sy you're failing on this but also you can do this and all that but I had that feeling within me like we can do so much better and let me see let me see like cuz my husband he introduced me to Chick-fil-A and I really love it and I like it and I was like okay I go there and I only stay like 7 Minutes in line and it's that quick and it's clean and it's efficient and it's fresh I want that for packles I I submit my application and and 3 4 weeks later I start working with them and honestly if I were not having my business I would have stayed with them probably working for them for so long cuz I love the culture I love how long did you work there I work probably for not very long it was not very long like a month or two around like almost two months probably just to like get the like hey how does this work and you know you're going to learn which I think is a very that's telling of you where you're like oh if I want to grow a big business so you were the owner of Pacos but you what were you doing at Chick-fil-A I was actually on the bread area and that's how you started that this is insane I was just on my area doing the bread taking the bread from uh the bag and put in some butter and then put it in the machine and take it from when they got out of the machine and put it in a piece of plastic and keep it there warm until it's ready to put that piece of chicken and no no no I I stay there pretty much the that whole time but you're just like learning from being around in like a really efficient restaurant go okay what wait this is 2020 2020 before Co before no no no no it was during Co it was yeah it was during Co yes okay so give me a rough scope like you know give me an estimate how much how much money in annual sales was your Pacos restaurant doing doing roughly then 2 million I think you own a restaurant that's doing $2 million in sales every year yes and you decide to go be the bread lady at Chick-fil-A to just learn yes that's awesome like that's the thing that entrepreneurs like some people it's you can teach a lot of Entrepreneurship it's like you can't really teach that I don't think like the willingness to just submit it's like you're already running a successful restaurant and it's like the person who's managing you like who's probably like the shift leader or whatever at Chick-fil-A is like not anywhere close to owning a restaurant doing $2 million a year and you're like you know what I'm just going to be a novice I'm going to learn everything there is to learn do this for a month or two just so you can pick up how to be really efficient and run a good restaurant that's awesome like that is just like the entrepreneurial spirit and I know you talked about earlier right it's like high school like that was tough to get through like didn't end up happening your curiosity and relentlessness and like just willingness to go learn that's so amazing that's why I'm betting on Pacos you guys are like come on that's it you do that for two months and what what learnings you bring back to your restaurant to be more efficient and of course I I was like with a lot of information at that time it was just me taking the decisions doing much and I had my team but my team it was not the people who was prepared for making those big adjustments my son he was working with me I was telling him of course like hey we got to do do things this way and he only could do so much he was so J and I was like how I'm going to do this and my husband and I we went to California and I went to this restaurant that the owner is Mexican and he he owns like 30 restaurants something like that and I really like that restaurant when we came back I got Co so immediately from the airport to driving home I was feeling with fever and all that so I holed myself at the basement two days that I stay there I was thinking how I'm going to grow packles how I'm going to grow I really have this desire I I have this in my heart so I started talking this uh Mexican restaurant owner from California at the name of the restaurant is I'm mama poros actually I was like he might have probably a comment or tag that probably he has a mentor or coach or someone who works with him that I can contact this person and this person will help me to bring someone with value that can bring value to Pacos that's what I did and I find a person that was in his team I sent a message on Instagram like hey my name is syi and I own takas and I am looking for a person who can help me to elevate my business in these areas and I know you're working for this person but probably you know someone and like hour later he replied my message and said like yes I know someone share with me your number and this person is going to call you around 2 hours so yeah somebody called me I start working with that guy uh he was my advisor like a business coach advisor business coach advisor yes talking with him I told my story how I started and everything he saw my desire and he was like you know what syny like you need a a person that really can bring of course a lot of value and is very smart in different areas where you need where not as good you're good on a lot other things but what is your your like not that strong part you need that person there yeah cuz it's like you could that's like the age-old thing with entrepreneurs right it's like you if you really needed to go learn how to be all right at every piece of the business like accounting or whatever right it's like you could probably do it but like would you would exponential growth happen if you focused on your best areas and hired around the places that you need more more help with EXA exactly uh he contact me with uh who El I'll see you he was working for the penis in Mexico the penis is like the Nik store oh Nationwide so H he was the uh person in operations managing 200 stores nationwide and well he wanted to do something different so he was actually about to work for Walmart and he contact me with hoel and I spoke to hoel again I told him my story my vision and he said you you know what SNY I would like to work with you I bring helel from Mexico legally to work here in United States and he has been brought a lot of value to my business now we have a office now we have um he's my integrator I am the Visionary EOS yes EOS yes see that's crazy you don't that's amazing I would not have expected when I come in and it's like okay you know syny runs some restaurants for you to say integrator and Visionary EOS like that's amazing like so so cool and I again I'm still I'm very bullish I'm saying uh you're talking about like Dubai and you know it seems a little C it does not seem crazy the way you talk about it and how you're thinking about this business obviously I'm the Indiana guy but like I I'm betting on you guys to go take over the world when it comes to takas amazing what is when you think about the future what is your vision for Paco Tak my vision is to keep developing leaders and packles leader I want people to excel because it was hard for me right somehow example school because I have to take care of my kids I have to provide and I've been doing my own kind of education some way like I've been taking Tony Robins program for a year I've been traveling to take programs as well outside of here in Indiana I've been in Mexico taking programs I've been I've just been reading podast audio books everything that I can to keep learning of course and keep this desire of M to keep learning this is what I really vision for Pacos like people who can come and work with us have that opportunity of learning a step up being out of the comfort zone uh that is what I really vision for my people for my team and this is what little by little is taking us forever because to grow from one tea to four is a lot of investment and it's it's a lot it is it's very painful people might think like is is EC it is not it is huge it's been painful I have been bleeding I have been crying so many times many learning experiences and when I say this because Tom Morales from Morales group I had a um lunch with him one time and he was like I I hear some of your story and I know you're part of the Halo up as well so talk to me tell me your story and he told me and I've been getting this from into my heart since he told me this tell your story keep telling your story cuz it matter cuz you've been doing great cuz I was telling him I've been making these mistakes huge mistakes and those any are not mistakes those are called learning experiences and I was like oh thank you so he shipped my mentality of being thinking and feeling like guilty of like no it's okay to fail because when you fail you learn from it and you grow from it and you move on and you really get it like how you want to Excel how you want to do better in this life and you have so much opportunities and I am so great Doing netk Network as well I love to meet people I love to connect people I love when people really help each other to do whatever is convenience for each other to really grow and Elevate and I just been doing all these kind of things that are been helping me but also making beautiful and strong relationships and I love it because somehow a lot of people is being the dime on me like I bet that you're going to be doing amazing S I want to help you with this I feel humble to say like example Mike Cunningham from the Cunningham group he's my mentor you know not a lot of people has those opportunities not a lot I do and I feel I feel blessed and I feel humbled that God put this part of within me to really like accept and do more and help more people through the path I'm just so excited I love it all this it makes me like be very passionate about BOS and entrepreneurial path well in the way you talk about your boss at R Latina and like how it just like the opportunity you were given and then the way you're talking about you want to develop young leaders you want to develop these leaders like and create a workplace I think it just speaks to the person you are in the company that you're building it's like your goal wasn't to you know have a million takas in every like be the Starbucks but it is but but like you're going to how you're going to get that outcome is by giving people a place that they actually want to show up for work and they can develop and get similar opportunities to what you were given ex and what you continue like when you know Cunningham group is is your Mentor Mark Mike Mike Mike mik Mike Mike Cunningham is your Mentor that's amazing so I thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story here we are rounding out the episode and we have some fun questions to ask at the end I think your passion has just been I mean it's just been displayed and I'm pumped up and I can't wait to see what the future holds for Pacos we're going to start with our younger year segment so this is a chance for you to pass some some words of wisdom on to uh to the 22y olds that are listening to the podcast here so this section is brought to you by our friends at or Fellowship they're a great organization here in Indiana helping develop young Business Leaders across the state syny what advice would you give to your 22-year-old self don't give up and I know everybody saying this and I feel like more the very very first one it's to be conscious about life about yourself when you're conscious about life by yourself about what you have been doing what are you doing right now is what is going to take you to the next levels I love that that's great advice like know where you are like when you're when you're conscious of like uh hey I have three kids I can't be an $8 an hour radio DJ like it's just not going to work or from the time when you're like I'm cleaning houses for 2 weeks like this is not what I want to do like kind like and how you're going to go to the next level I love that that's a great advice what's your favorite menu items at Pacos tacos tacos tapos what is that those are the best the tacos that it comes with bira and cheese and cilantro and onions and you deep him and the cons those are great those are we're going to have to put that on the list to try next time we're there okay here's a fun one uhuh what's the best place to get a margarita in Indianapolis oh you know what I am not fan of margaritas I am not but you guys have to go to El Toro in the sou Southport El Toro in Southport El Toro and South why El Toro because my friend lose she is the owner and not only that they are very hard workers but also that food is great and they do if you talking about Margaritas actually are the only ones that I like from them oh so those are the only ones you like and I am not fun I'm not saying that I'll go and I drink five of it no I I can drink one but if I go any other places I don't know I don't like is is there a a different beverage of choice yeah yeah it is it is but I am more fan of the mcal then oh the mcal okay where's the best place to get mcal in Indie the most prominent Mexican restaurants and there's not one that's like the Toro okay and some restaurants of them El M I think they do have also mcal as well I am fan of mcal I love mcal okay mcal okay so I will say I'm not probably a tequila or a m like I love it but I was down in medene Columbia like uh two months ago and I had to just look it up it was called antio anti of uh uh auin AUA Dente AUA D yeah it's kind of like it's not the same of course not even the flavor is the same but it's like mcal and aente is kind of like the same thing for for the village you know it was crazy it was like we and I was like oh this is delicious and don't know if I would ever find it I don't know if I'll go back to Columbia and have it again but it was fantastic so that's my like choiceful I have a Colombian friends and they're so fun yeah it it was amazing like I was down there and I'm like obviously like always talking about Indiana and like but I like to go out and see stuff so that I can come back and make comparisons and like aw it's great to go out there and see it it does I by the end of the I spent a week over there I'm not Spanish speaking at all like I did like a 30-day streak on dualingo so like I have like a preschool level and by the end of it I was like man I just was talking to people in English like cuz I'm over there just like they like my buddy is translating for me and I just like smile I'm like see see no yeah exactly what's the one ingredient you can't live without in your kitchen garlic garlic yes ooh okay what's what's your favorite dish to make I am actually very good cooking Mexican Mexican traditional food because I'm coming from that my family back in Mexico that actually I get to say it my Grandpa he was a great uh businessman he was very very successful and he started very similar of how started Pacos a very little restaurant and then he ended up with real estate and probably like four different businesses oh wow um so he was just great but I get it from my family and my grandma she always said that garlic is what it gives the flavor I like that to I agree I love I love some garlic okay final three questions of the day we ask these to every guest that sit in that chair uh what's something that the world needs to know about Indiana people needs to know that Indiana is the fastest State growing for with the small businesses we are the fastest in the whole nation and we have the best schools and fishes and caramel of the whole nation as well not only that we have the best people in the government here that's why we grow financially so quick here in Indiana we are very conservative but at the same time it's a great state to make money and it's a family family State I love that I love Indiana Indiana I mean I'm coming from delisia Chihuahua Mexico and but Indiana is my home Indiana it's is my heart and it has given me so much that I am beyond grateful I have no words to to say how thankful I am am to be here and to be all these years in this uh State heck yeah I love that that's a mic drop right there final two questions what is a Hidden Gem in Indiana super toras what is super toras super toras I love super toras well and actually the owner is my friend is it the the little the world's smallest Tor shop is that the one that's right out here no no here around here no not this one no on um bellw and 16th on the west side and what is a Tora a Tora is a piece of bread not like a baguette actually this piece of bread we call it tea and they do that toras like the sandwiches like in Mexico City and it's so good you guys have to go there all right super toras this is over on yeah on uh Michigan Michigan and BW on the West Side yep I see it okay I love that we're going to put that one on the list Final question you get to give a shout out to somebody else here who is a hooer that we need to keep on our radar besides Mike because he's doing great things Mike henningham I would say Diego Morales Diego Morales can you give us a little give us a 30 second inro who that is uh Diego Morales is our secretary of state what I feel like this with him is because he is the first Latino in the history of United States of the government uh to become Secretary of State not being born in United States but he's been doing great job and also the story behind that behind his story is is also very it's very strong it's a lot that your 22y old audience can really get Inspire as well to one day probably be the governors of Indiana or to do something else in that politics why not that's why we're growing here so fast in Indiana because overall we've being having great people being the leaders of this estate I love it syny thank you so much for coming on and sharing your story I mean it is a it's a wild ride from what coming when you were 14 to Chicago then to Indiana dropping out of high school starting this business and growing it and and what the future holds again I've said it all episode It's So bullish on Paco's side Korea and what you guys are going to build here where can people connect with you LinkedIn Instagram Instagram is more family thing uh more personal but it's open actually it's not a private my my page is not private and lengthen absolutely heck yeah and I hope this is a story that helps Inspire and motivate others that like those circumstances you might be going through like finding a way through those to overcome those and to achieve your goal and to to keep being hungry to go build cool things that are going to help Inspire uh the Next Generation so thank you so much for sharing your story and we'll make sure to stop by any of the four locations we'll have them in the show notes uh make sure you stop by and support Paco staria or your next event call out the truck get them to uh to Chef up some um some amazing food for you so thank you SNY thank you thank you for listening to this episode of get in if you liked what you heard make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcast this show was made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater whether you're trying to start your own podcast or looking to take your show to the next level make sure you check out sweetwater.

com for all your creator needs if you want exclusive behind the-scenes content on all things Indiana make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok @nate spangle thank you for being part of what makes the hooer state so amazing we'll see you next week here on get in