Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Nunez.
Hi Fernando, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born in Mexico City, Mexico and came to the United States when I was 12 years old.
I enjoyed growing up in a place as beautiful as Mexico City, I especially loved the cuisine that the city has to offer. It is not hard to find a vendedor ambulante (street vendor) that sells a torta de tamal with a champurrado on seemingly in every street corner of the city. Or find delicious food at brick and mortar spots all around the city. You had endless options!
When I arrived to the United States one of the things that came with us was our cuisine as my mom and dad love to cook traditional Mexico City dishes. They would make pambazos, pozole, cochinita pibil etc. The food allowed me stay connected to my roots. As I got older I started working in fast food restaurants and did so for about 10 years.
However, I always longed to become an entrepreneur. In 2011, while working in one of those fast food restaurants a food truck parked really close to the restaurant. I believe the name of the truck was Gennario’s; they used to sell Italian cuisine. After I saw them in their food truck a spark ignited in me and I started researching everything there was to know about food trucks. I started going to local food truck events to check them out and get ideas, or as I would tell my wife then girlfriend “I started dreaming”, telling her that one day I would open my own food truck.
At the time in 2011, I was 22, but I aspired to be an entrepreneur. Fast forward to 2014, I got a corporate job and managed to move up the corporate ladder, but I still had that dream of becoming an entrepreneur. It wasn’t until March of 2021 that I took the leap and decided it was time to stop dreaming and start this journey. So, I ordered the food truck and we opened on August 7th, 2021.
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?
Not at all. When you are a food truck owner you wear many hats; chef, mechanic, generator specialist, the list goes on and on. We initially started having some mechanical issues with the truck which we have fixed since then. It has all been a learning process, you dream it for so long that when you have it in front of you it can become overwhelming, but my wife has been my rock and she is what keeps me going. My family has also been there for support. My mom is the warrior of the family she has been through so much, but she has persevered with her head high, she has always believed in my dreams and has pushed me to work towards my goals and to ignore my fears. I look to her for advice or a shoulder to lean on. My dad is my mentor as far as cooking because I learned how to cook from him.
So, when I opened my food truck it was natural to have them help me in the truck for opening day. Unfortunately, my mom and dad got sick from Covid a week prior to opening and they were unable to help us that day, but my sister and my two sisters-in-law’s were there to save the day. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without their help on opening day. We are learning every day, nothing is easy in this business, but we are making the most of it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We offer authentic Mexico City dishes such as pambazos and tacos de cochinita; which are relatively unknown. We like to think that our sazon and salsa sets us apart. I’ve always said that excellent food will have the right sazon and the prefect salsa. That is where the name of Salsazon came from as it is a play on the words “salsa” and “sazon”. When you order from us we want you to enjoy great food, have a cultural experience and great service that will make you want to come back for more. We are currently located in the great city of Saginaw, Texas.
I love our branding, our logo went through many changes and I am happy with the result. My goal in our branding is to make your visit to Salsazon a cultural experience. The music we play on our speakers have songs from Café Tacvba, Los Enanitos Verdes, Caifanes and many other artist which I grew up listening to. I want to share that piece of Mexico City that I hold dear in my heart. We serve delicious food with a side of Mexico City!
Our food truck is more than just a place to grab lunch. It is a place to try out new dishes of authentic Mexican cuisine. It is our goal to share our love of Mexico City and its people with every dish we serve.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy??? That is a tough one, but I mean if you were to ask anyone that knows me I’m a simple guy who doesn’t need much to be happy. But, I will say that one of the things that makes me happy is having our customers try our food and say “those are some of the best chilaquiles I’ve had” or ” I tried to replicate your dish at home but it doesn’t compare to yours”!
Family is another thing that makes me happy. Working with family is a blessing because it makes the day not seem as long. My wife’s niece started working with us and I didn’t think that I was doing anything out of the ordinary, but in one of her projects from school, she was asked to provide 5 people who she admired. I was one of those people! That made me happy because you don’t think you are doing anything that is worthy to be proud of because you are so caught up with everything you are doing in your business.
That definitely put a smile on my face and gave me the push I needed to keep going.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@salsazondf.com
- Website: www.salsazondf.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salsazondf/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Salsazondf/
Image Credits
Rosa Rosales
