We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanessa Landa. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanessa below.

Vanessa, appreciate you joining us today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I believe in the following phrase “God’s timing is perfect.” I say this because I lost my job in November of 2017, soon enough my father decided to step away from the restaurant business. I felt as if this was meant to be. It was early 2018 when I decided I would take over the business. I mean I had just lost my job and I thought … “we can’t stop serving our community” who my father had been serving since 2009. Not alone, I must admit, I was a bit scared. A 24/7 restaurant business sounded very heavy to me. I invited my all-time supporter (My Mother) to join me on this new journey. Yes! t’s a mother and daughter duo business.

Vanessa, 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?

Looking for authentic Mexican food? Look no further, we’re located on the corner of Belmont and Austin in Chicago. Here you will find delicious authentic Mexican food including our tacos. We offer plenty of options to choose from. Our most sold is our Steak Tacos, but customers also like our Marinated pork and mostly our Tripe taco. I suggest you order them crispy. Not to mention our tortas, our “Mexican panini” our second-best seller. Just wait till February, we sell them Heart shaped. Our community always gets very excited when February comes, we sold out last year and had a line outside the door.

Not only do we serve authentic Mexican food, but also like to innovate. We offer a Hot Cheetos Burrito, this burrito is filled with steak, melted cheese, guacamole, and Hot Cheetos.

Getting creative with our drinks is one of the things I enjoy the most. This past summer we offered blender shaped cups filled with your choice of Agua fresca or Horchata. Our Agua fresca cup was rimmed with chamoy and tajin. Topped with Gummies, Chamoy and tajin. Our Horchata cup was rimmed with Nutella and sprinkles, topped with a Gancito, Marshmallows and Mexican cookies. So far these drink options have been our most popular. We had customers driving from two to three hours away to get their drink. Unique, cool, creative, and different were some of the word’s customers told me.

If you ever find yourself looking for a late-night taco spot after a party, concert ect… were here to satisfy those late-night cravings as we close at 3am Friday – Sunday.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When we took over the restaurant business, no delivery service was offered, it was only dine-in or carry out, orders were taken in person or by phone, it was very soon after we took over that the pandemic hit. One of the scariest times for all. It was for me; everyone was scared to come out. We had almost zero orders a day. Customers weren’t coming out, this made me realize it was time to act, or we would fail. I got in contact with third party delivery services and ended up partnering up with Uber and Grub Hub. Soon enough I started to see orders come in. We were finally able to keep the business running.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Tiktok has been the most effective platfform for me Telling my story also helped me connect with my community. Show your face, customers want to know whos behind the screen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sutaqueriathalys.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sutaqueriathalys/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sutaqueriathalys
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sutaqueriathalys