Rising Stars: Meet Tino Amaya

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tino Amaya.

Hi Tino, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My culinary journey began when I was just 15 years old in my grandmother’s restaurant. I quickly rose through the ranks to run a kitchen by 16, after moving to Laredo, Texas, where I cooked for different restaurants. My talents were recognized by Eateries Inc., which sponsored my culinary education at The Art Institute of Dallas in Texas. After graduation, I became a corporate trainer and traveled the country, opening restaurants for different brands.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It has not been a smooth road at all. I think what most people see after you “make” it is truly the tip of the iceberg. What they fail to see is all the struggle that made you who you are. When I decided to embark on my own journey and open our restaurant, we were plagued with all the same struggles most start-ups face: capitol. I did not come from an affluent family, so raising the funds to open our first restaurant took a lot of ingenuity and financial creativity. I truly came to understand the meaning of robbing peter to pay Paul. The next largest struggle was marketing and advertising. We opened in an area that was saturated with older, well established Mexican restaurants that simply dwarfed us. Our style of Mexican is cleaner and more organic than most, so getting patrons to understand the differences in the regions, was a challenge. But just simply marketing our product to masses was a challenge. Its hard to tell your story to people that aren’t listening. We needed to find a way to connect to the community and help them understand how we were different, not necessarily better, but a different style of traditional Mexican cuisine. Lastly, employee buy in. We didn’t have a lot of capitol to pay as well as the more established restaurants, so getting a great group of employees, team members, family really, that bought into our vision, was going to be crucial. it took time, but once that team was established and realized we were doing something special, they all came along for the ride. Several are still with us today.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We are a family owned Fresh Mexican Restaurant. We currently employee 47 wonderful people. We have been truly blessed to become a strong figure in our community and are most proud of the impact our business and our employees have had on helping our community grow stronger and much better since we opened. We are truly known for providing a unique take on modern mexican cuisine. We offer a wide variety of all organic vegan and vegetarian dishes and pride ourselves on staying as true as possible the family recipes that have been passed from several generations.

What makes you happy?
At this stage of my life, just knowing that I am no longer worried about what I need to cook for. I am happiest knowing that I now cook for legacy. For the families that trust us with weddings and birthdays. Or with their baby showers or bridal/bachelorette parties or bachelor parties. It makes me happy to know that all those years ago we set out to change our community for the better by providing a space where families could come and spend even just a hour of intimate time together at a dinner table, and that we get to see it happen every single night. I am happy knowing that all those year ago we made a pledge to be the best community partners we could be, and to see the several community outreach programs we effect and help. To see the several businesses we have been able to help scale and grow. To see the many students and culinary professionals we have watched grow with us. Lastly, it makes me happy knowing that my career in hospitality has open doors for my children and that they have lived a blessed life in an amazing community surrounded by wonderful citizens.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.amayasmexicangrill.com
• Instagram: @amayas_fresh_Mexican_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amayasfreshmexican
• Other: @amayafresh1