Interview: Meet Mary Lopez, Gratitude For What She Has Experienced and The Dreams Yet to Realize
There is a city in the state of Tennessee that is characterized as being one of the most tranquil and breathtaking cities to live in the state. Nolensville, named after William Nolen, who established this city located in the center of the state, near the Cumberland River and about 22 miles from Nashville.
“Tacos and Mariscos El Amigo” is a well-known Mexican restaurant in the city of Nolensville! The proud owner is Ms. Mary Lopez. She is a fascinating woman who has had what it takes to rise above challenges and create this success. She shares her journey with us and just like many people who left their original birth countries, along with everything they knew, this was no different case.
It all started with one of her 11 siblings, her brother who migrated first and it was only a matter of time until the rest of her family slowly did the same, carefully following in his footsteps. Mary first lived in the sunny state of California, there she worked in a seafood restaurant that was owned by one of her siblings. She was always working within her family. “We were born to be taqueros, that’s all we’ve ever known” she mentions. “My other siblings had success in this industry early on, in 3 years one of my brothers owned 7 taquerias in Nashville, it was such a success so early so fast that he didn’t really know how to manage it at first and started to lose his footing at one point. My brother offered me the opportunity to take over one of the locations that was going bankrupt. My husband and I were thinking about moving back home to Mexico with our savings and decided at that point we should invest our money and repair the taco shop instead. We knew that this project would require a lot of work and time investment from both of us. We worked day and night and also paid back a lot of the restaurant’s previously acquired rental debts. We focused and made a strategic plan, we poured all of our energy and risked it all. We somehow had a gut instinct that we could do it. In the first months, some days we were not selling more than $100 a day. That was painful. Today all of that has changed, thank God! The taqueria is 17 years old and my husband and I have been in charge of it for 13 years now. We did it, we achieved a good healthy flow and our investment paid off in many ways. We have a solid and comfortable relationship with our vendor/distributors like Diaz Foods and that’s one of the ingredients to running our business, having good providers.” Mary also reveals that she is about to launch her second project after a decade of success in her first. “Tostadas Coyoacan” which is a food truck close to “Tacos y Mariscos El Amigo” where they specialize in Tostadas of all types and toppings.
Ms. Mary tells us she never imagined that she’d live in the states as many years as she has but she admits it’s hard to leave this country. She has learned to love it and see its strengths and feel blessed for herself and her family. She concludes her thoughts by expressing this sense of gratitude for what she has experienced and the dreams she and her family are yet to realize. She predicts that in a few years she will be a bit more settled in her new projects. She wants to rest more and enjoy her family and her surroundings. We thank Mary and her family for the opportunity to get to know them during this session. We wish them continued success!
Tacos y Mariscos El Amigo
3901 Nolensville
Nolensville, TN 37211
Teléfono: 615 833-6434