We recently connected with Antonio Mondragón and have shared our conversation below.

Antonio, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

As chef, I’d say I have extremely high standards, so there’s no taking shortcuts like other corporations do. For example, they might buy shredded lettuce, chopped onions, already marinated meat, etc. Whereas, here at Sazón Mondragón we take the time to perfect all of our recipes including our very own meat seasoning. We take the time to cut, slice, & chop all of our vegetables to make sure they’re fresh. Our salsas don’t come from a jar, they’re calculated and cooked the same way each time to ensure our customers get the same delicious taste every time they come by.

Antonio, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Antonio Mondragón, I am 30 years old, I have 2 amazing kids that keep me busy when I’m not running the food truck. I married my high school sweetheart, who has helped me accomplish everything I currently have. I have always had a passion for cooking, I was always in the kitchen watching & helping my dad which turned into a playful rivalry between my dad, brother, & myself to see who can make the better meal, salsa, etc. I officially began my culinary journey when I got hired at Prosecco, an Italian restaurant in Downtown Chicago, where I learned and gained a lot of skills in the 4 years I was there. I’ve worked alongside very knowledgeable chefs who helped pave my way to become my own boss. It hasn’t been an easy road, but I’m very proud of how far I’ve gotten. My main goal with my food truck is to showcase the authenticity of Mexican flavors. When I open up that window, I’m not just at a regular taco stop this to me is my gourmet kitchen & all of my dishes will prove that once you take a bite!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

We did start as a side hustle, but with the purpose of one day having our own food truck. Back in 2020, right when COVID-19 was in its prime, my wife and I lost our jobs. I resulted in cooking as that to me is my form of meditation. I spent a lot of time outside in my garage on my black stone griddle when I suddenly started having neighbors ask/joke if I was selling food. Laughing I’d say no, but still offered a plate to those who questioned it, that got me wondering how many people would actually buy food and if selling it would help my family during those hard times. I started cleaning up my garage, bought some supplies, & posted on my social media that I’d be selling food. The response was amazing. Slowly I started getting catering requests and eventually had to buy another griddle to keep up with the demand. Finally in October of 2022 the opportunity to buy a food truck came by and we jumped right on and said this is it, it’s now or never.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Once we had the food truck we were ready to take on the world. We started as vendors at local farmers markets, car shows, festivals, etc. but we were looking for something a bit more stable. Luckily my wife brought up a Facebook post that she saw where a bar in Benbrook, Tx was looking for a food truck to park outside. We immediately reached out to them and were so grateful that they got back to us. We met and sealed the deal, we officially had a spot to sell our food! Unfortunately, we ran across issues with the plaza’s property manager and we had to leave, we were no longer allowed to park and sell food there. We started looking for places that would allow us to park, we reached out to various business owners, gas stations, parks, plazas to no avail. No one was giving us the opportunity to show them we were serious about our food. Many times they’d look at us as if we were just kids. Ready to throw in the towel and get a regular job to get my family through the weeks, we ran across yet another Facebook post where a property manager for a Plaza in White Settlement, Tx stated he was looking for a food truck to lease his lot. Again we reached out and were ecstatic to hear back, we met up with Mark, the property manager, and immediately hit it off. We chatted for a bit and within 2 days we applied for the lot and we were approved. This has by far been the most challenging part of having the truck, but we’re so happy to be able to sell at our now permanent location!

Contact Info:

• Website: Sazonmondragon.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sazonmondragon?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sazonmondragon?mibextid=D4KYlr
• Other: Snapchat: https://t.snapchat.com/d4I9FtXy TikTok: @sazonmondragon