Today we’d like to introduce you to Manuel Mendez.
Hi Manuel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story starts in Beaumont Texas as a first generation Mexican-American food dinner time lunchtime breakfast wasn’t just a comfort food for me. It was a comfort setting that to me and everything it got me wanting to learn and know, and drive my passion for culinary skills being taught by my mother and grandmother essential life skills that would not only help me but feed me and my family with something I didn’t realize was a golden ticket for me I went through many jobs mini trades and at the end of the day I always lended back in the restaurant industry/service industry. It was in when I realized hey I can do this one day and I simply manifested it. I would affirm it that somehow I was gonna open up a restaurant or sell the food I love to cook, and that I could share with others and that being ready for that led me to opportunities they say luck is when preparation and hard work me and that’s exactly what happened when the opportunities present itself I was ready and the first opportunity was a food truck now fast-forward to today I am I am now a food truck owner that’s also a social media manager a marketing director had a PR and many more titles that comes with the role of food truck/vendor/restaurant owner being diligent and stay in grinding not giving up when time got tough is when you really flourish is when that pressure makes the diamond and work through the whole hard times not only builds character but people see that character and now that has landed me in a position where I cannot only have people taste my food out of a food truck, but in a food court, and one of our cities, hottest new restaurant concepts which is the food hall that’s how I intended it to go maybe not this quick maybe not this many accolades, but I stuck with it and now I’m reaping the rewards. I just learned that by delivering a delicious representation of culture true comfort food because it’s not just the food. It’s the experience that I can celebrate cultural diversity through the medium of a hot meal.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Definitely has not been a smooth road as they say if it was easy, everybody would do it struggle along the way or just learning the industry learn from your mistakes learning the dues and the do not and really just learning more so that you can elevate because those who don’t learn Know it all and I definitely don’t wanna know it all I wanna keep learning educating and informing myself
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
What I do is create smiles. I do that by managing and owning a food service business a specialize in creating great experiences I’m known for my food TexMex Cajun Fusion. I am most proud of myself because there’s something that I didn’t experience for a very long time. What sets me apart from others is my magnitude to create a great friendly environment, and remind people that food is not just a source of consumption but an experience.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Definitely ChatGPT a lot of self-help books. I just got into reading so I don’t really remember any of the authors, but I read a lot of self-help books rich at poor dad self health books on letting go of the past and claiming your present for the future and just looking at local legends incorporate Giants and Picking what I like about those and implementing it into my business
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eat_mannys_catering?igsh=aGFsMzB1eXdxZnVq&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1GTxFof5EA/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@vidaconmanny?_r=1&_t=ZT-91CYYqBlow1
Image Credits
@mannimendez @borderlineseasonings
