Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana Moreno. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Diana, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

To start, we love Colombian food and we missed its flavors. To get Colombian food we had to travel far from Indiana. So my daughter Brenda and I thought that there were many people like us who missed our food and we decided to start this Mr Patakon project. Our main product is Patacon (t’s a green plantain, flat and crispy) hence the name of the restaurant. It is a healthy, delicious and unique product as we prepare it here. We try to please all consumers in terms of flavors and fillings and everything about a Patacon.

Diana, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I was a preschool teacher in my country Colombia, I had some studies in marketing and administration, from a very young age I developed a special taste for cooking.
Here in Indiana along with my daughter Brenda, we worked in several Restaurants from which we had many learnings.
Our business offers Colombian products in which we use quality ingredients and artisanal processes; empanadas, yucca cakes, arepas, chicharrones, beans and patacones among others, are some products that differentiate us for their preparation, flavor, freshness and presentation. We are proud to be able to bring a part of Colombia to this country and especially to Indiana.
Our work team is also a source of pride since from the processes that begin in the kitchen to when each dish is served and brought to the table. It reflects the love with which it is prepared.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Many people told us that it was not good to open a Colombian restaurant here, that with patacones and arepas we were not going to emerge. Despite the discouraging people, we bet on our idea and began to dedicate time to the business plan, to each recipe, ingredient. , supplier. We bet on a product that was not very easy to obtain and more so in large quantities and that was the green plantain to make the patacones. We were invited to several news segments to present our products. I especially have a memory of the presenter Sherman the Fox 59, who came here to try our dishes, he enjoyed a patacon fajita for the first time and his face made many crave it, we saw that this product, contrary to what they told us, was well sold. Our typical desserts and soups are also a plus since no one else offers our variety.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

We believe that it is important for the work team to maintain the rule of congratulating in public and calling attention privately to any errors.
Do not let your guard down at any time, delegate functions,
if there are group errors, speak up, listen to each party and find a solution to the problem and to maintain balance in the team. It is also important to be compliant with the salary of our employees.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.mrpatakon.com
• Instagram: @mr_patakon
• Facebook: MR PATAKON

Image Credits

Brenda Sanchez