We recently connected with Nayomie Mendoza and have shared our conversation below.

Nayomie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was the most important lesson/experience you had in a job that has helped you as a business owner?

Cuernavaca’s Grill was founded in May of 2005, I always had this as my job. The first few years were rough. My sister and I started brainstorming ideas on marketing, expansion, and though my parents never told or showed us they were stressed, we put 2 & 2 together. The restaurant industry allowed us to mature at an early age. At a point we worked for tips and that was motivation to keep growing.

I then started interning for my Dad’s accountant and by 19 I was hired. I learned how to use Quickbooks and do the day to day clerical work. The team began to expand and they started offering more services such as auditing, marketing, consulting and though yes, accounting is important, my creativity sparked again.

I was 19 and was assisting with 19+ accounts, giving creative input and letting my creativity develop. I was a full-time student yet every networking event I would talk about growth and yes, I grew within the company but there was a small voice that would taunt me because I knew I was supposed to grow alongside the family. They never pushed me but one day I decided to quit and start working with my family. As the end of my college years were approaching, I was praying for an opportunity to expand the restaurant- that’s when Cuernavaca’s Grill in DTLA came in to play. Getting this restaurant up on it’s two feet was the most difficult, I look back and I wonder how I did it.

Yet again, I look back to the years in office and the equipping that I got only prepared me for this very moment. I didn’t hate the job- but something in me knew that I was destined for greater. However, I knew that it was only a season. I believe that every season propels us for future seasons. I look back now and i’m glad i served that season with excellence, I’m glad that I took every tool into this season because it only gives me more confidence in my growth and allows me to keep developing.

Nayomie, 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?

My parents founded Cuernavaca’s Grill in May of 2005, I am a second generation restaurateur who took over about 5 years ago now. I was 20 years old (one week away from turning 21). My college friends and I were supposed to go on a massive trip, I mean I was turning 21 yet the opportunity presented itself and I invested all my money into the family business and A few weeks later I had the business up and running. One year into ownership the pandemic happened and shut us down for about 5 months. Because I was a fairly new business owner, so many doors were shut because the min required for aid was two years of business.

I then turned to Social Media, started filming reels and our “Chile Relleno” video went viral, it was featured by the FoodNetwork, Univision, Telemundo etc. I never thought that it would have a reach so big. this became a movement and we take pride in calling ourselves the “Local Chile Relleno Dealers’. this spanned beyond the latinx community, it’s opened so many doors for us and allowed us to amplify our community in person and through Social Media.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Yes, the pandemic came with alot of new – a new reality, new health codes, new way of marketing. I saw Social Media changing the lives of many people and I wondered what it could do for a small business. I started posting reels and engaging with my community and before we knew it, we were blowing up. I would give advice to post on social media, post the behind the scenes, the hard days, the good days, reels, everything, consistency is key and you never know who is watching.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The pandemic also happened a year into my Masters program. I had to choose between my business or school. I chose business. I knew I could resume my studies further along in life but if I wanted to save my business, I needed to act now. I’m glad I took the risk, I slept on it for nights and nights but that also bought me time so I could invest all of my energy into my business and here we are with an expansion, a second location, and a third one coming very soon!!!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cuernavacasgrill.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cuernavacasgrill_