Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Suarez
Hi Fernando, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Where do I start? Simplifying such a complex story is a daunting task but I will give it a shot. I have been in the restaurant industry for over 20 years. I started out bussing tables but moved through the rankings and worked pretty much all job positions both front of the house, kitchen aspect and leadership roles. (Busser, dishwasher, waiter, cook, manager, etc) The idea to create Fajita Kings was born out of pretty much all of the frustration, stress and anger from the things I would see wrong in the restaurant world. I hold the beliefs that if you don’t like something fix it yourself, lead by example, show us how it’s done, stop talking, stop complaining and just do the work. I applied all of those beliefs to bring Fajita Kings to life. I wanted to create my definition of a perfect restaurant however reality quickly slapped me right across the face and showed me how difficult this task would be. Although in truth the idea of a perfect restaurant may never be attainable, the idea does help to improve in perpetuity. Excellence has to be a daily habit and discipline keeps me moving forward through good and bad days. We work hard and smart every day so that we can get closer to the goal of excellence, be the best version of ourselves and the best version of Fajita Kings for our patrons.
The idea for creating a restaurant started in 2016, I started looking at buildings and calling to get information on the cost of leasing. I quickly learned of the outrageous costs associated with leasing a building and also that landlords are not interested in leasing spaces unless you are a national franchise. Many didn’t return the calls or emails. When I finally got a meeting to look at a place, I was looked at in a disappointed way, like who are you? What is Fajita Kings? I was even asked once where my dad was? since I “looked too young to be owning a business.”
One of the first steps for me was creating the logo and coming up with a name. It all started kind of joking around by bouncing ideas with my family, friends and co-workers until we arrived at the name Fajita Kings. The name had double intention for me as I wanted to be the best, the kings of the restaurant world but mainly a place where the customers are the kings and queens. I also wanted Fajita Kings to inspire people to create their own kingdom, to step into their power, to claim their power and be the kings and queens of their world. I created the corporation in 2018. The logo took me about 6 months to create. I kept switching graphic designers since I couldn’t find one that could bring my vision to life. I was told the logo I was trying to create was not practical and had too much going on. I now see there is some truth to that. I also started writing ideas, hand-wrote the menu on a spiral notebook, I actually lost the first draft of my menu which was very frustrating. I was able to remember maybe 80-90% of my original ideas, I think.
After I had the logo and the menu handwritten, I felt very confident in moving forward. I had a full time job managing a night shift at a local restaurant at that time. I would work on the Fajita Kings project before and after work. I was working every day every night. Sometimes I was so busy, inspired, stressed and focused that there quite a few nights were I wouldn’t sleep at all. I just worked through non-stop. I also started unintentionally fasting because of the fast paced busy lifestyle. It seemed like time would disappear or that the clock would skip time. I lost all notion of time, holidays, birthdays etc. It is scary when you don’t even know what day or month it is. This might be inconceivable to some but there are times where I don’t know what year it is because I am so focused on all of the details, layers and dimensions of operating a restaurant.
I went through over 10 rejections of spaces I wanted to lease. In my mind I was going to try it 100 times before giving up. I tried applying for financing through banks, credit unions and SBA lenders with no success. I did some research online as well but I was rejected over and over. When I finally received the phone call that landlord was willing to lease me the building I am currently occupying, I decided just to move forward with what I had. I had no real choice at that point, it felt like a now or never moment. I ended up just taking the money I had saved up, maxing out my credit cards and my wife’s and just rolled with the punches. Once the lease was signed, I looked for construction companies with no luck. No one would show up to even give an estimate. I just decided to move forward without changing the building. I couldn’t have done any of this without the help and support of my wife Sandy, honestly. I also feel very blessed that many amazing people showed up at the right time to help and I will forever be grateful for that.
Prior to opening there was so much multitasking, it was insane. From creating the website, social media, email address, business cards, nomenclature of the menus, pictures and descriptions for the menus, indoor and outdoor signage, lighting, vent hoods, natural gas for the kitchen equipment, permits for food, liquor license, camera surveillance, speakers, Point of Sales system, programming all of the different modifiers for customers to choose, buying chairs, tables, mounting TVs, calling all distributors to set up accounts, buying plates, utensils, cups, kitchen and bar equipment, making sure everything was up to code, fire suppression system, grease trap, plumbing, electrical, refrigerators, freezers, ice machine, landscaping, setting up the drive-thru, internet, phone, cable, setting up payroll, finding a CPA, opening up a bank account, finding insurance, setting up management, the list seemed endless just to get the doors open. When you apply for a job you have to learn how to do that job but when you open business it is backwards, you create the jobs and systems and then learn them so that you can teach them to the staff and management. My mind was split in 1000 different places and I would work non-stop. I signed the contract December 2019 when I was 29 years old and opened the doors on April 19th, 2020. To top it all off, in the middle of all this chaos a pandemic decided to show up which delayed many things for me. While many restaurants were closing their doors, I had to figure out a way to survive and do the opposite which was to open my doors. I had just signed a 10 year lease and shutting down was definitely not an option for me as that would have essentially ruined my life. It seemed like the light bill and water bill showed up very quickly and with no revenue coming in, things were looking hopeless really quickly. 2020 was an absolutely unforgettable year for me, for my wife and for all involved in Fajita Kings to say the least.
At this point in time we are doing great. However, rent is due everyday and everyday we have to bring our A-game if we want to continue to thrive in this industry filled with so many greats. Although Fajita Kings has come a long way, we still have a long way to go and in a way we are just barely getting started. I have learned and grown so much on this journey and I will continue to learn. I am excited for the future of Fajita Kings and look forward to growing the brand and exploring its potential.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
F*ck no! hehe. The road to opening Fajita Kings was not smooth at all and it was full of so many challenges. The idea for Fajita Kings started in 2016 and I opened the doors on April 19th, 2020. Those 4 years were painful, full of heartbreaks, disappointments and frustration. The good thing is that I am very stubborn and a workaholic, otherwise I would’ve given up long before the doors opened.
One of the first big challenges for me, as I mentioned before, was financing. It was virtually impossible for me to qualify for financing since I was starting from zero. Banks did not want to work with me, the amount of paperwork required by the SBA was overwhelming to say the least and I didn’t have the history which is usually a basic requirement. There might be alternatives which I may not be aware of but in my case I just kept getting declined.
Besides being unable to secure financing, finding a building was very challenging as well. I didn’t have the means to build something from the ground up. Landlords wanted to lease only to national franchises and not small businesses.
After almost 10 rejections I finally got a yes. When I finally got the lease approved it was a weird feeling, almost surreal. I was so used to failures and rejections that success was a rare feeling. I have learned now that failure is part of success. After signing the lease, I was aware that the real challenges were barely starting. I had 2-3 months to open before the first rent payment showed up. Clock was ticking and it was time to get to work.
I wrote a list of everything that was needed to open the doors. (permits, construction, signage, bar menu, dinner menu, recipes, website, social media, accounts with distributors, Point of sales system, bank accounts, equipment, coolers, venthoods, finding a CPA, everything I mentioned before etc.) At the time I was working full time. When I was not at work, I would work on Fajita Kings. Many people see the tip of the iceberg which is Fajita Kings being open, but they do not see the years of work and hundreds or perhaps thousands of hours put in to this place prior to opening. I was working on my dream for free, not knowing if it ever was going to pay off or worse, which is losing all of your savings, digging yourself in a financial hole that you may never climb out of and burning your credit.
I also quickly learned how unreliable some companies can be. I am not sure why that was my case, maybe because of lack of trust in Fajita Kings since it was a new company? Honestly, I never figured that part out. While I was blessed with many great companies and individuals showing up, I also witnessed the opposite with construction companies, signage companies, electrical companies, etc. I wanted to change the neon lights color to purple but no one showed up. Maybe it was the timing but even companies with good reviews would not show up. I would schedule a time and date and would get stood up many times before the right one would show up. I look at how fast some restaurants are built and it is so shocking to me because in my case even simple changes were very time consuming. I opted for doing no construction or remodeling. I changed the bar countertops, bought a bar shelf that was prebuilt on eBay, painted the restaurant. swapped out the outdoor lights, added signage, changed the color of the awnings and closed off the outdoor seating area with a wooden railing. This brought many challenges as local city officials required permits to swap out the countertops, the color of the awnings and they also required a permit to bring in tables (chairs were okay). At that point in time I did not know that permits were required for those types of things. I used to think permits were for construction and structural changes but I learned that is not true. As I mentioned before, in the middle of all this chaos we had a pandemic which added another layer of stress. The pandemic made everything way more difficult and slowed everything down except the bills. I was multitasking so much and had the pressure of the clock on me 24/7. It seemed like the restrictions to get the doors open were never ending.
All of this is on top of the normal challenges like passing inspections, obtaining the food and liquor licenses, making sure everything is up to code. Another challenge showed up a day before opening. I received a cease and desist letter related to the name. I do not want to go into too much detail, but it was very time consuming to say the least. I was spending money and time I didn’t have to defend myself. I was very confused at some of the accusations and had no clue what everything was about. It all seemed more like a misunderstanding from my perspective as I never had any bad intentions. In the end, it all worked out. Everything I had done and continued to do was filed properly with the guidance of my counsel. I also witnessed how many spectators can form opinions online, theories and conspiracies specially on social media that can be very distanced from reality.
For the first couple of years, there were also a bit of challenges when it comes to dealing with all of the different personalities at work. With the stress of all the multitasking, I admit that I sometimes wasn’t at my best. Looking back I probably should’ve handled many situations with more intelligence and less emotion. I also learned that just like there is loyalty, there is also betrayal and everything in between. That is okay. We use this as inspiration for the name for one of the salsas which will be on our next menu update. Right now, work life is simple. If you do your job, two thumbs up. If you don’t do your job, there are consequences. I have to rise above drama and keep my focus on improving. The goal for me is simple which is to increase revenue, grow the brand and lower expenses. It is a simple goal but the action plan is full of details.
When we were new to the scene I did many events to attract attention. Mariachi, DJ Nights, 5 de Mayo parties, Trivia, Drag Show, Women empowering Women, Sports days, etc. It all worked out surprisingly well. The events attracted a lot of people. Unfortunately, that also attracted some backlash and sometimes controversy. I even dealt with organized backlash by a pastor I believe, that seemed to have the goal of shutting us down just because what I was doing didn’t fit certain beliefs. That was quite an experience and everything was thrown at me. All these agencies, officials, would show up. Random and frequent inspections started happening. My stance has always been simple, everyone is welcome at Fajita Kings. We are not pro or against anything and we do not discriminate. There was never any fear on my end as I was not doing anything wrong. My goal is to sell fajitas, tacos and some mouth watering desserts. The advertising from controversy was nice for short-term use but I never wanted to advertise that way long-term. We benefited from all of the attention and came out victorious but there is just no need to continue with that type of aggressive advertising long-term. At this point in time, we do not have the need to create events to bring in customers. We are currently just focused on the basics which is good food and good service. That is actually the part that makes me happy. At times I was so busy working on the business that I didn’t have the time to work in the business. Having the time to come to work is a beautiful thing. The behind the scenes work can be very time consuming and it is so easy to stay busy all day without setting a foot in the restaurant.
There were other challenges that I’d rather not go into too much detail and some that I would love to talk about but I think it is best if I omit them completely. I can say though that I have had companies walk away with deposit money for a job that was never completed. I have seen contracts that seem unconscionable to me. Unfortunately, mom & pop shops can also become targets from those with not the best intentions. I don’t understand how some have the heart to do that, but that is a separate subject. Owning a restaurant carries a big responsibility. It sounds cliche to say this, but I have learned to read all paperwork carefully before I sign and I seek professional legal advice in all areas of the business before moving forward with a decision. I am more careful now with everything say and write. I do not give out my phone number, not even to my staff. We have also been through some natural weather challenges as well, like the freezing temperatures which shut us down partially and tornado winds that caused quite a bit of damage mainly to the exterior of the building.
I also lost my dad on April of 2021. That was the most painful experience I have been through in my entire life. I also learned that the problems and responsibilities do not pause just because you are emotionally destroyed. I still had to show up, take care of my responsibilities and put on the best face possible for our customers and the team. I think this is a good stopping point or this will turn this into a book.
In present time, the road is very smooth and sometimes I do wonder how we made it through the storm. But just like our journey was full of challenges, it was also full of miracles. The good and bad experiences have made us improve greatly, we learned from all of our mistakes, our past experiences have definitely put us at another level, we perfected our systems, automated many things, simplified the work, organized the chaos and set up a management team. I have heard that wisdom comes from making mistakes and we have made plenty of those. I do believe relatively speaking there is smooth sailing ahead and we can definitely teach a lot to future Fajita Kings’ owners. Who knows? There might be a day where I can help future franchisees navigate and avoid all the obstacles I have faced. Fingers crossed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The question answers itself. Professionally speaking Fajita Kings is what I am most proud of. We specialize in fajitas and pretty much our whole menu is tied by this element. A lot of what sets us apart is listed on our website but I can go over a few things. We have a very unique fusion of different cultures, breakfast all day with an amazing menu full of variety. Fajita Kings just gives out an amazing feeling when you walk through the doors that is difficult to explain, you just have to check it out. There is so much work and thought behind every layer of this restaurant. From the obvious which is food and drink recipes, presentation of the plates, bar menu, catering menu, drive-thru menu, online menu, layout of the building, nomenclature, photography, social media, logo, to the way the systems are set up for the staff to work. We have also greatly improved the speed of service despite everything being made fresh and from scratch. I am also very proud of the versatility of this place. It is like a one-stop shop. We have a wide variety of customers from all walks of life and that is beautiful to see. The menu is wide and varied that there is truly something for everyone. We have done many caterings and deliveries as well. There are many ways you can order from us, from drive-thru, calling in to online ordering. I do recommend the dining room as nothing beats that experience in my opinion. This is kind of silly but I am also very proud of our selfie wall with the throne as well. It is beautiful to see all the kings & queens that dine in with us take pictures. The building itself is beautiful inside and out. Another aspect which is truly amazing is our home made desserts. My mom is in charge of that section of the restaurant which we have called Queen Bakery. It has grown so much and we now have people ordering birthday cakes and pan dulce. I am excited for the future of Fajita Kings and Queen Bakery. There are too many details to list on that I am proud of. I will end it with also being proud of the behind the scenes work. We have improved greatly in managing our expenses. There are systems in place that help us monitor our labor percentages, food cost, and all expenses related to this place. In the modern landscape with so many fluctuating food costs and bills going up it is very easy to hit red numbers. There are so many aspects and details behind the scenes that many may not be aware of. You can have the best food, the best drinks, the best service and still fail in this industry if you ignore the behind the scenes details.
On my personal life, I am also very proud of my family, my home life, specially my wife Sandy. She has came a very long way as well and has been on this journey with me through thick and thin. She is way better than me in many areas of the restaurant now. She is a beautiful person with a heart of gold, a true boss and a true queen and I just feel very lucky and blessed to call her my wife. I am also very proud of my parents, my brothers and sisters and although we do not always agree when it comes to professional decisions, I love them. I am also very proud of my team, specially those in leadership roles. Lastly, I am proud of myself for still scoring goals at the indoor soccer arena. haha.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
In my case, I do not neccessarily think I have a mentor other than my family. I learn from everyone and I have always found great motivation in inspirational stories but I don’t have a specific mentor. My parents were a big part of my journey and taught me many things. My family came from humble beginnings but my parents’ morals and virtues have truly inspired me. It has always been my mission to make them proud and to honor them as well as those before me. I also believe it is my responsibility to reach higher levels in all areas of my life. I hope I set a good example and inspire future generations to do the same. I want the ones that come after me to accomplish more than I do as part of evolution. My wife has been a gift from heaven and I could’t have done this without her. My 2 sisters and my 2 brothers have in a way been mentors in their own unique way. I am always bouncing ideas with family on the challenges that show up. Another person who has helped me out quite a bit is Russell Forsyth, his wisdom from his personal business ventures as well as his intuitive advice has helped me out tremendously.
As to networking, I consider it extremely important. Finding good and reliable plumbers, electricians, etc. finding a good construction company, real estate agents/brokers and just surrounding yourself with a good team of advisors for all aspects of the business is extremely beneficial. In my personal experience I started networking in my close environment. I would network through my own staff and co-workers. I would save all business cards from everyone that would introduce themselves because you never know what the future holds. I exchange referrals with colleagues and people I work with. Sometimes the customers that dine in can provide a valuable service to your restaurant from bankers, real estate agents, signage companies, landscaping etc. These are all practical ways in which I have networked and how I have met many amazing individuals throughout this journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fajitakings.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fajitakings/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fajitakings1
- Twitter: https://www.x.com/FajitaKings
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fajitakingsTV
