We were lucky to catch up with Carlos Ramos recently and have shared our conversation below.

Carlos, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

I have been an educator for 17 years and a business owner for the past 12 years. In the past 5 years as a High School Culinary Arts Instructor I was able to combine both of my passions: Teaching and Restaurants. I was also able to discover that students need more guidance when it comes to explore different options for their higher education. Career and Technical Education (CTE) offers them just that: a different option to a 5-year College future. The best way we can prepare students for a fulfilling life and career is precisely by allowing them to explore their options at an earlier stage, perhaps as early as middle school.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born in Lima, Peru. My first job was helping my older brother in his restaurant. I was 14 years old when he would take me to the market at 5 am to get the best fish and produce. I understood, at this time, that this industry requires a lot of sacrifice and hard work, but I still wanted to do it. I worked in several restaurants from casual to fine dining, from the kitchen to the bar and learned what it took to run a restaurants. In 2009, after gaining enough experience, I started a catering business with my wife and brother in law. The following year we started a brick and mortar restaurant we named Latin Bites. Fast forward 12 years, and after lots of hard work, sacrifice, and several obstacles we remain in business. I feel very proud of the reputation we have created for our restaurant and we continue to work hard to stay a float in a very difficult time of pandemic and economic struggles.

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

In 2010, right around the time we decided to start our restaurant, I had a medical condition that required me to get a kidney transplant. My brother in law and business partner offered me his. We went to surgery and signed our lease for the restaurant the same summer. I spent several weeks recovering while my wife and brother in law spent countless hours getting the place ready for opening. This was a great motivation for me to recover and get back on my feet. A couple months after the opening, we started to get great reviews and press coverage for our small Peruvian restaurant and had to move to a larger place. Running a restaurant, or any business for that matter, is not an easy task, but it certainly is a rewarding one when you look back and value the sacrifice.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

I was 18 when I started working at the bar of a restaurant in Peru where I met Rita. We were just co workers at first, then fiends, but little did I know we would become partners for life. I left Peru at 20 to continue College and didn’t see each other for 5 years. When we reunited in the US, we discovered we had more than just dreams in common, and decided to spend the rest of our lives together. We continue to study, work and started a family. A few years later we decided to join forces with her brother and started Latin Bites, a small catering company, that now has become one of the strongest names in Latin American restaurants in Houston. I’m confident to say that our business and relationship is now stronger then ever.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.latinbitescafe.com
• Instagram: @latinbiteskitchen
• Facebook: @latinbiteskitchen

Image Credits
Houston Chronicle Mai Pham Wine and Food Woodlands Houston ISD Texas Monthly Patricia Sharpe