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100% Latino -owned & -operated
| History In 1794, Francisco Marin -- a Spaniard -- became the first Hispanic resident of Hawaii. Francisco Marin planted the first pineapple in the kingdom of Hawaii on January 2, 1813. |
| By José Villa, Senior Editor MILILANI TOWN, Hawaii -- What do Guadalajara, San Diego, Tijuana, Ross Dress for Less, water polo and taquerias have in common? Each of these factors contributed to the success of 26-year-old entrepreneur Jésus Santoyo, owner of Just Tacos restaurants on Oahu. Due to a variety of reasons, including the present state of the economy, price of oil, and an uncertain economic forecast, several restaurants in the state -- some of them long-time neighborhood icons -- have closed or are closing. But Just Tacos is expanding. And no one that knows Santoyo is surprised. He was doing very well with the original Just Tacos restaurant on Bishop St. (1111 Bishop). Then last September this savvy entrepreneur expanded his concept and opened a larger restaurant, Just Tacos Mexican Grill & Cantina, with a more expansive menu in the Mililani Town Center. Slightly different concept, executed just as successfully. But is he resting on his laurels? Not Santoyo. He is driven to succeed. This ambitious young man is opening his third location in Pearl City, near the Wal-Mart complex next month. Who is this man and what drives him? During the course of our interview it became evident that several factors motivate Santoyo and fuel his competitive drive to excel: his parents; his twin brother; and his rigorous water polo training. “kill” shots. He said their excellent training and love of the game enabled them both to win full scholarships – at 17 -- to play at Cal State Long Beach. He said their excellent training and love of the game enabled them both to win full scholarships – at 17 -- to play at Cal State Long Beach. His attendance at Cal State was the genesis of the Just Tacos restaurants idea. During the years he lived in Mexico, Santoyo was used to seeing a taqueria on practically every corner. He said: “In Mexico, taquerias are like Starbucks has become in the U.S. There’s one on practically every corner.” “Many of them are family-run businesses. They are very successful and capitalize on a very simple concept some of us attended an MBA program to grasp – they focus on their core business. They just sell tacos. They employ the same high- level business concepts our professors drilled into us: ‘Profit is maximized when high margins meet low operating costs.” Due to the dual-cultural nature of his upbringing, Santoyo couldn’t understand why the taqueria concept hadn’t caught on in the U.S. mainland. In his mind it was like living in two houses on the same street right across from each other. When he lived in House A, there were taquerias up and down that side of the street. But when he lived in House B, right across the street, there were no taquerias. Little did he know that his curiosity would lead him to a successful future. Upon graduating from Cal State, he immediately plunged into their MBA program. Graduation requirements for that masters program included writing a thesis consisting of creating a business plan for a fictional business. That was all the motivation Santoyo needed to put his taqueria idea on paper. He attacked that business plan project with the same intensity he brings to every other aspect of his life. If you spend even a limited amount of time with Santoyo, you soon realize he doesn’t just get “involved” in something, he plunges into it – much the way he plunged into water polo. But he felt vindicated, when after reviewing the thesis his professor asked him who he had copied the business plan from. When he convinced the professor he wrote the plan himself, the professor said if he had no ethics -- and money -- he would put one of the businesses Santoyo had articulated in that plan “on every corner.” Santoyo remained calm outwardly, but his mind was rocking: “I knew it! Oh yeah, uh-huh…” Thus emboldened, the 22-year-old took the MBA thesis cover off his proposal, put a business plan cover on it, and approached several Long Beach banks seeking funding for the business plan. This is where marketplace reality shattered the dreams of idealistic academic theory. Four banks turned him down for various reasons: he was too young; he had no experience; the bank was not investing in restaurants; etc. He was devastated, but – ever the optimist -- believed perhaps the timing was not right and put the taqueria idea on the back burner. In the interim, with MBA in hand, he was hired by Ross Dress for Less. He did very well at Ross. He was promoted from district manager to district director and brought to Hawaii. He was then in charge of the Ross stores in Hawaii and Guam – at 22! He was successful, but his dream was always there in the background. Though committed to his corporate responsibilities, he saved his money in the hopes of launching his taqueria idea himself. Since Ross was planning to expand its chain of stores in the islands, his expanded managerial role brought him into contact with many commercial property leasing agents. One day he told them: “Hey if you guys ever find a little place that meets these specs, please let me know. I have an idea. And about eight months later an agent called me and said he had a place that seemed to fit.” Santoyo went to look at it and knew that was the place. He quit Ross and launched his Bishop Street Just Tacos restaurant in late December of 2005. Our staff then asked him why when so many other restaurants are closing, he is expanding his chain. He said: “One of the keys to being successful in the restaurant business is controlling your cost of goods and overhead. When the economy is the worst, and other restaurants are closing, it is a great time to expand.” “Why? Because we can acquire expensive restaurant equipment and ‘restaurant-ready’ locations at reasonable prices, rather than pay the full price to convert a space into a restaurant. And while we don’t wish any other restaurant bad luck, the failure of another restaurant is a potential opportunity for us to expand and I analyze each opportunity thoroughly. We have three locations on Oahu now and we’re looking to expand.” What advice does Santoyo offer other Hispanics that have a dream they want to pursue? “During my early childhood in Mexico there were many times when we would wake up in the morning and our house had no water or hot water because the municipal system was dysfunctional. I used to hate that and decided early on that my kids would never have to go through that experience. I felt we were treated like second-class citizens.” “Since that time, I have always been a competitor and have never liked coming in second. I succeeded at water polo not because I was the most naturally-gifted athlete, but because I was willing to work harder at refining my skills. I was promoted quickly at Ross, a Fortune 500 company, because I was never afraid to work harder than my peers. Having a dream is one thing, but its realization requires the willingness to stop dreaming about it and just do it.” “I am extremely fortunate to be surrounded by a family – my wife Megan, mother Maria, and father José De Jésus Santoyo, who are very supportive and understand the nature of my commitment to success. But they all understand that I stopped ‘talking the talk’ and started ‘walking the walk.’ Just like in sports, that’s what separates the players from the spectators. If the folks with a dream want to score, they have to get on the court. |
| Young Latino finds success in Hawaii |
His parents came from Guadalajara, Mexico, but
Santoyo was born in San Diego and spent his early
youth living in Tijuana.
A Latino playing water polo? We had to ask!
During his youth in San Diego, he and his twin brother
José really loved to swim and had joined a swim team.
One day, when they were about nine years old, they
were asked to join a pick up game of water polo. That
simple invitation resulted in Santoyo playing the sport
for 13 years.
He told our staff he and his brother were on the U.S.
Junior National Water Polo Team from age 13 to age
16. They were known as “Double Trouble.” José was
the feeder and Jésus, of course, came up with the of
the Just Tacos restaurants idea.
Santoyo was born in San Diego and spent his early
youth living in Tijuana.
A Latino playing water polo? We had to ask!
During his youth in San Diego, he and his twin brother
José really loved to swim and had joined a swim team.
One day, when they were about nine years old, they
were asked to join a pick up game of water polo. That
simple invitation resulted in Santoyo playing the sport
for 13 years.
He told our staff he and his brother were on the U.S.
Junior National Water Polo Team from age 13 to age
16. They were known as “Double Trouble.” José was
the feeder and Jésus, of course, came up with the of
the Just Tacos restaurants idea.
