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00:00:07 Alex VO: The Build is presented by Square. Opening your first restaurant is one of a kind challenge. Building the systems, team and infrastructure to grow beyond is another. This season, we're going beyond the basics and into Restaurant 201, following what it really takes to scale a restaurant concept without losing the hospitality, culture and food that made it special in the first place. Square supports businesses at every stage, with connected tools designed to help restaurant owners run their operations, understand their business, and keep growing. This is The Build: Season Three, presented by Square. 

00:00:46 Jenny VO: You’re listening to The Build: a show about what it really takes to open a restaurant. 

[Theme Music]

00:00:54 Jenny VO: Hi, I’m Jenny Goodman.

00:00:57 Alex VO: And I’m Alex McCrery.

00:00:58 Jenny VO: And we are the co-founders of Tilit NYC and hosts of The Build, presented by Square.

00:01:03 Alex VO: Over the past 10 years we’ve interviewed hospitality professionals including operators, chefs, vendors, professional services and a whole lot more. 2 years ago we changed format following one aspiring entrepreneur as they set out to open their first restaurant. First with Eric See of Ursula and then Rasheeda Purdie of Ramen by Ra. We dubbed those 2 seasons as Restaurant 101, a chronicle of what happens when you go from lease signing to opening day.

00:01:27 Jenny VO: But what about when you already have a restaurant and are looking to expand. How will your business and its needs change? What do you apply from your initial learnings to your second, third or fourth location? And what needs are brand new? Introducing The Build: Restaurant 201 in partnership with Square for our listeners on the path to growth. 

00:01:50 Alex: All right, we are here. It is season three of the build. Welcome back. We are sitting with the crew from El Cameron Peludo, also of Taqueria Ramirez, Socceria, all kind of things happening here, but we are happy to be back in the studio, we’re in… where are we?

00:02:10  Jenny: Well, today is May 26th. It's the day after Memorial Day. Summer is about to kick off. The Knicks, y'all! The Knicks just clinched it for New York. Um, so officially going into championship mode here. The city was very alive last night. Snd we are sitting here today with the team from Taqueria Ramirez as they're about to open their third and fourth and fifth restaurant this year. So Tania, tell us exactly where we are sitting at this moment.

00:02:40 Tania: We are in Greenpoint right now. Um, we are sitting in a studio where Gio and me officially met in 2016. I came from Mexico. It was October, so almost ten years. And... and Gio and me, we had met via Skype. Uh, because, uh, I was hoping to come over, a little bit

00:03:05 Alex: I love it, by Skype.

00:03:06 Tania: So yeah, I was hoping to come work in New York. I just loved the city. I had been here the summer before and, uh, Gio pretty much sponsor me... my internship visa. So that's, you know, the reason why I came here. Sfter that, we just kind of saw each other every day, working together, first in photography and production. We were doing a lot of parties too. And then, you know, things changed at some point.

00:03:38 Jenny: So how did you get connected before? And then... you guys are romantic partners also like life partners and business partners. So tell us a little bit about how the partnership through work really came to be too.

00:03:52 Tania: So I found out about the studio, which the name was Colony Studios, through an ex actually.

00:04:02 Alex: Gio has got an interesting look. We'll hear more about that later. Maybe.

00:04:07 Tania: Who told me: You know this guy? Obviously, I was finding who could sponsor me... my visa. It was either photographers, some sort of production studio. Photography studio. So I heard, you know, this guy's Mexican and he might be able to help you with your visa. And I reach out via email. And then we were just back and forth. I was super eager to come. I didn't care, like, if it's an internship, I don't get paid. It's fine. I'll figure it out. You know, I just wanted to come. And that's what I told you. And he took advantage of that. So, yeah, I mean, I guess, um, that's, you know, we did the whole process. We started working together, but thankfully we met and a week later or so he actually offered me a position. Full time paid position.

00:05:04 Gio: Nah, that was like three months later. 

00:05:05 Tania: Oh shit.

00:05:06 Gio: That was... it was great too. I was, uh, I wanted to keep her.

00:05:14 Tania: So yeah, like, like I said, we started working together and we were just hanging out. Um, literally daily we would go for a drink in the neighborhood. We were always around here. And at some point... So yeah, I guess that's when we were starting like... you were starting cooking because we needed to find, you know, the best lunch spot. There was not a food scene like it is right now in the neighborhood. It was definitely much more basic old school places, not many more variety of cuisines, but we were always craving tacos. We were always craving Mexican food, so there was just one spot. Shout out to Vamos Al Tequila because they're the OGs and...

00:06:00 Alex: Are you still here?

00:06:01 Tania: They're still here actually. And so yeah, when we were just craving tacos, it would be just like a whole thing that we would do… Hey, I will take care of going to the supermarket. We would just set up the space, set up the table, the griddle that we got from online, just like a small electric griddle, and someone else would do the beer run. So it was the whole thing, like: Okay. It was three hours of our working day, just dedicated to the lunch. Literally we were just hanging out. People would like, knock on the door. Actually, no, the door was open all the time. So everything was smelling, the chorizo. And literally that's how people came about the tacos that Gio was cooking, because it was just a whole thing here in the neighborhood, in the building, which you can see like you cook here, everything is going to be stinky. Yeah.

00:06:56 Alex: So Gio... Gio is, if you don't already know, Giovanni Cervantes nominated for a James Beard Award this year. You have no restaurant background, it sounds like, but there must be some food background. Can you tell us a little about where that came from and how it how you became the guy that was making the tacos here?

00:07:16 Gio: I always wanted to cook, and I feel like I, I always, I was that kind of person that always was putting myself in front when, um, we were cooking for our family or friends at home and, um, but I, I, I really grew up with, um, a strong culture of Cuisine, you know, in my home kitchen, and especially growing up with my mom and my grandma when, um, especially with my grandma, it was a really much like embracing the whole process of, uh, going to the market every day just to pick the ingredients that we were going to cook that… only for that meal of that day. And it was... every time that she was going to, she was picking us up from the school, we were like doing that sort of routine all the time, uh, going to the butcher, going to the market, going to the tortillas. And after making all those stops, we were at my grandma's apartment and she was cooking for us. And it was…

00:08:13 Alex: Where is this?

00:08:14 Gio: This is in Mexico City. I was probably... I was very young, probably just like about eight, seven years old. And, and I grew up with that until I was probably eleven. And, But I guess those years really, really captivated me to, to see and understand what it takes to cook, right? and what it takes to cook every day and what it, and also what the creativity around it of like choosing the differences of how you're going to create this meal different, different than the, the one yesterday. And so I feel like that really kept on me. And I feel like after that, I just, I was just really, really into food and cooking all the time for me and my family. And, um, but it was really until, um, when I moved to New York that it really changed. And it hit me because, uh, when I moved to New York, I started hanging out with a lot of, uh, Mexican friends who were in the hospitality industry. So, um, I used to live with a chef. Uh, his name is Maxi, and I used to live with, uh, a restaurant owner and also chef. His name is Philippe. And they were. They both really impacted me when I moved here, because I was just spending time in kitchens in New York and understanding the culture of hospitality and understanding. You know, like when you restaurant closed, you, you stayed long nights in a restaurant just hanging out and, you know, having beers and smoking cigarettes and things like that. So that really changed me in terms of, um, understanding, I guess a little bit of more of the, the, you know, the kitchen and a little more of a professional, I would say like, uh, landscape and, and then after that, I was, okay. Um, I remember that I was here being a photographer, but like, I couldn't really get the kind of jobs that I was used to in Mexico, which was more like portraits or fashion or advertising. So I was, because I was hanging out with a lot of these restauranteurs that I met throughout the way, I started taking photos of food. So I was started, I was working as a photographer for restaurants and for restaurant owners. And I, that allowed me to get to know other people in the, in the industry. Um, and then, I don't know, like when I, when I finally got my visa sorted out, I, and I was able to have my own business here legally, that's when studio came about. And that's why I thought if it's... it's really, really difficult to get a job here. So I'm gonna try to get the jobs from the production side. And that's when I was like, okay, I need a studio, I need some sort of equipment. Um, and that was around 2012 when I, when I got a space in this building, um, it was a 3000 square foot space in the fifth floor, and we built a cyclorama wall. And, you know, I started working like that. And that's how four years later, I met Tania.

00:11:09 Jenny: Were you mostly still doing food photography when you were in this in this space?

00:11:14 Gio: At that point, I feel like I was doing a little bit of everything. I was doing... I started getting a few advertising jobs.So I was still doing a little bit of food. I also was doing, just odd jobs. Like I remember there was a furniture store in the building downstairs and I was taking photos for them. And then… in exchange for furniture that I still have in my apartment. And I met one of the other industrial designers in the space. Her name is Farasi. She's a really good friend of mine. And I also took photos of her job. So I was really doing a little bit of everything and, um, but but, but I was pretty much focused, like my whole time was very much consumed of running the business of the studio, just like helping other productions to come to life.

00:11:57 Jenny: So take us back a little bit to 2016 when you start cooking lunch and tell us a little bit about... what was on that menu? Were you charging your neighbors? Was this, oh, we're just going to do it for fun and feed the building. And, um, or was this already the seedlings of a little business? Um, and just for our  listeners, the building that we're talking about is we’re at 86… 67 West Street, which is essentially a building on the water in Greenpoint that is very lofty. And you can like you walk in and you can tell that there are tons of creative businesses here, and that that is the vibe of the building. So it makes sense. Now there's businesses like Bandit Running and other folks, so, to Tania's point earlier, it's really evolved and who the tenants are over the last ten years and what the neighborhood is. So, so yeah, so take us back a little bit to 2016. And were you thinking this was a menu? What was on the menu?

00:12:50 Gio: Yeah. Um, so everything I feel like it started when, when the, when the studio was, uh, getting, you know, growing and I needed more people to work with me. And because at the beginning, it was pretty much me and one more person who was Roxanne. And at some point Astrid, they were helping me out. And we were just like a duo. But we had to get an office with where we are right now because our office used to be inside the studio, but we decided to get an office to give them privacy. So we got this space. And I guess when the team of the studio started growing, I was, you know, it, it kind of like came to me of like… having them experience like a good time for food. Like I feel like food is always, always meant to me... a medium to, you know, gather and bring people together and obviously express, you know, love and I feel like that was sort of my way to communicate that back then. And, and that's how it really started. Like the options of lunch, they were really, really just minimal... so we were at some point like, let's do our own. And so the menu was always tacos. Honestly, we didn't do anything else. I don't remember, I mean… we did tostadas,  we did aguachile a few times, but um, it was really ninety percent tacos. Um...

00:14:10  Alex: Always pork? Or was it?

00:14:12  Gio: No, it was actually more like beef and pork with... Because most of the time chorizo as well was involved. But I guess. Yeah, a combination of both and with some, you know, grilled veggies. Um, and we were making, um, a salsa with chipotle back then… but yeah, like the menu was, there wasn't really a menu. It was mostly like what was available in the supermarket, which was really cool because it brought me back to those days when my grandma was like going to the supermarket just to get the ingredients for that meal and cook them. And, you know, all this sort of like ritual. And the neighbors, they were just like invited or they invited themselves like... "hey, can I get bite? Can I get a taco?" or we’re just like, "hey, come on in!" because they were just like peeking in at the door, you know? And, Uh, so, I got known, at least the floor of this building by like, uh. Giovanni who makes tacos.

00:15:11 Alex: Taco guy, yeah.

00:15:13 Gio: I was already in the building back then for four years. So I knew everybody, you know? Ae were all friends and neighbors. And so they were, we were all willing with the freedom of just like coming into, you know, everyone, you know each other's space.

00:15:29  Alex: And Tania, how long was this like feeding the neighbors and the building and the community a thing before the light bulb hit to start the first restaurant? And where did the light bulb come from? Tell us a little bit about that story.

00:15:45 Tania: So I feel like we could have keep going with that. And since it started literally 2016, 2017, probably actually, and it was three years of that. I remember we also, yeah, we also used to go to McCarren Park at some point and do the same thing, but outdoors. And until literally the pandemic hit. That's where our lives changed. And at some point, I guess we were running out of money because, I mean, that other studio we used to have is just three thousand square feet. So it the rent was considerably higher than this office. So obviously, you know, we had to keep paying rent somehow. And I guess a couple months passed until we realized that we were just running low on funds. And I mean, there was no forgiveness, let's say, from the landlords. So we were just like, okay, we need to do something with this money we still have in the bank, you know? And so that's when I guess we started… Gio, I guess, started getting serious about let's find a spot to do these tacos, no? And at the beginning we thought of, because we were doing this type of tacos, like geo saying just Costilla Ribs. Beef ribs with chorizo, with cheese, with avocado. Let's keep doing these type of tacos and but then at some point it hit like, no, you know what? Why don't we do something that there's nothing here in New York, which was suadero, tripa, like this other menu that you find in the streets of Mexico City. But at that point, there was nothing like that over here. And unless you went beyond like Sunset Park, which we did, but also some of those places, I guess, or all of them, they cater more to like a more American taste more like. So yeah, it was just like something a taco that you embrace, like the grease and the spiciness of the salsa. There was really nothing like that. So in that moment, I think we first signed the lease and we found the space and then we changed the menu idea, let's say, the concept. But yeah, it was, uh, 2020, I guess, or 2021 maybe at the beginning that it came all like, okay, we need to move on from the studio, which it's not going, it's never going to be the same. And just take this other idea more seriously.

00:18:20 Jenny: For the three years that you guys have been making tacos out of this space. And then McCarren Park, were you charging people for it and what were you charging folks? Were you making money or was literally just for free? 

00:18:30 Tania: Nah, it was just like...

00:18:33 Jenny: Literally for free.

00:18:35 Tania: To have fun, you know?

00:18:36 Jenny: Yeah.

00:18:37 Tania: it was just something. Thankfully, at that moment, I don't think it was ever a big deal for us, you know? Just a pack of tortillas, couple packs of meat. The chorizo was cheap. So it was not really like that we wanted to make money out of it.

00:18:52 Jenny: it. It's just for fun. So a true passion project, which is pretty incredible that you didn't monetize it until you actually were opening your doors. So then when you sort of had a proof of concept, right, that people liked your food, but then you totally changed the menu. What gave you confidence to do that and explain to us how it went with opening, how you knew what to charge people since you hadn't charged people before? And then how did you guys find that first space?

00:21:48 Gio: Um, yeah. First the menu. I feel like it hit me when, during the pandemic, I needed to do something with her visa, so she needed to go back to Mexico. And I was, uh, I feel like I was for like four months, uh, by myself during the pandemic after spending almost a year only with Tania. So it was like a real change for me just being by myself. And all of a sudden I, I never had I never been before a YouTube fan, but I became a YouTube fan back then. And I was really homesick. I feel like I was just watching videos about Mexico and like Mexican food and, and, uh, and it hit me when I remember the, especially when I was a teenager going to school and having a little budgetfor lunch. And, uh, and I remember the tacos that I was actually eating those days, which was all of these tacos that are part of the menu now, which is most mostly suadero, which is my favorite. And, uh, Campechano, which is, you know, the combination with that and Longaniza and tripa. So for the people who doesn't know Suadero, it's a really sturdy cut of beef. It's between the rear leg and the belly. People in the US call this cut a roast meat because it does have a, a lighter, uh, red, almost like pink color. And most people don't know how, what to use or how to use it because it's really, really strong. It takes a long time to break it down and make it really soft and juicy, but it does have the perfect amount of fat and, you know, and muscle fibers there. But if you take your time, and especially if you cook it with lard, it's going to be fantastic. And that's how we do it in Mexico. And tripa, it's just basically beef small intestines and longaniza is like a similar to chorizo, but it's, it's a, it's just more fresh version, less preserved version of chorizo. That's basically longaniza. So those were the ones that I grew up on my teens going to school. And those are the ones that are like, really like the street flavors of Mexico City. Maybe combine it with tacos al pastor as well. And that was when I just started watching, you know, like being homesick, watching YouTube videos. I started actually searching, particularly those putting suadero, you know, tripa and start digging deeper into this YouTube universe. And I started to feel more confident of like these are actually tacos I need to make because I miss them. I don't think there's anybody, you know, like this. I never done it, but I think I can do it. So I bought myself a tiny choricera and, and I started just like making tests and we were making tests in our back patio in our apartment, and also in my current park and other people's patios. You know, in their apartments. We were just inviting friends to, to prove that concept because, um, I was making no more like carne asada or anything like we were doing before. Um, andI think we nailed it. I feel like, I feel like for me also a representation of the salsas was really key because, um, there's, there is one taqueria that I was, you know, when you're getting, you know, long nights or like drinking with friends, you go to these areas in Mexico with crazy spicy salsas to sober you up, so it does really work. So you get super high with this spiciness. All of the sudden you feel like, oh shit, like new, you know, reborn. And so that, that for me was exactly what I had in mind of like, this is the salsa that I need to make. I need to have at least one salsa that is, you know, super rich and spicy and another one that is still rich, but like more, you know, a little mild and less spicy than the other one. So that was it. And it was, um, after we made this test and we decided that that was going to be the menu, we started like profiling the space in a different way. By the way, the space, we got it because, we were hanging out in Greenpoint all the time for many years. And that space, we were very familiar with what were our commercial spaces around, you know, around us. And there were plenty of coffee shops, as there still are. And Taqueria Ramirez spot was actually a coffee shop, the name of the coffee shop was Beatles. And they run out of business during the pandemic. So they closed 2020. And when we decided to start looking for spaces, that space was right there and it was available and it was just one block away. It was really a pandemic deal. Um, yeah, that was fantastic because we were, we can dive deeper into the finances where, but, um, but basically we only had 30,000 dollars in the bank and that was it. That was all our savings, money, everything. So we needed to find a place that was a deal.

00:24:21 Alex: Did you guys find this or you had a broker?

00:24:22 Gio: We, we found it just by walking by and I remember it had a sign. Yeah. It had a sign. So we called the number and you know

00:24:28 Alex: And then tell me, did you guys how long was the lease that you signed? Did you do that work yourself or...?

00:24:33 Gio: We... yeah, we did it ourselves. It was, uh, a five plus five deal. Uh, that it was fine during the pandemic. You know, if I was back then, I would probably negotiate like twenty?

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00:24:49 Alex VO: Last season, we watched Rasheeda build Ramen by Ra around two very different experiences: an intimate chef's counter and a fast moving takeout window. Square helps her manage both while also connecting online orders, in-person sales, merchandise, and guest information. That means Rasheeda can recognize the customer who ordered ramen last week and bought a shirt two weeks ago. It's tech helping a small business feel even more personal. The Build is presented by Square. Learn more at Square.com. 

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00:25:20 Jenny: So you have thirty thousand dollars in the bank. You're going to make it a completely new menu of things like that. Americans, frankly, don't eat every day. And you have never been a restauranteur before. 

00:25:33 Gio: Yes.

00:25:34 Jenny:Um, but, you know, we always say that it's just to be an entrepreneur. You just have to start a business. So what were those early days like for you all? How did you budget that last thirty thousand dollars and the bank to get your doors open? And what was the response from the community?

00:25:54 Tania: I remember obviously the first thing was signing the lease and the deposit, all of that that they require is usually three months total. We literally just started banging walls by ourselves. And thankfully the space is really small. So it was a project that we could kind of do it ourselves. Obviously, we relied on some professional help, But it was yeah, we were dedicated to paint the walls or do this ourselves. And we signed the lease in March and I believe we took six months, if I remembering correctly. By that moment, I think in June or July, you know, everything was the city was open again. And we yeah, we kept up the business going the studio. So it was a, that was really helpful because, okay, we were generating some money that we were actually injecting to, to the restaurant. So it was a little bit of, you know, budgeting and not trying not to spend that much. But also, yeah, we already had some more money coming in from the studio, which it literally helped us open.

00:27:07 Alex: When did the line start? Was there, was it when you opened the door? Was a press hit? Was there?

00:27:14 Tania: Yeah. So, um, like Joe was saying that we did a bunch of, um, tastings in our apartment. It was really a lot of tastings that we did. And every one of them, you know, more people started to come. That's why we kind of had to move on into a bigger patio, because our patio was super small. And then suddenly it's a party and we bring a DJ. And I think the last one was the McCarren Park one, because it's like, okay, now we need bigger, no? And that was in, I think July. That was the last one. And at that point we were like, okay, let's just push ourselves to open or we'll see how it goes. And in August, we decided to do soft openings throughout that month that were happening twice a week. I don’t remember exactly which days they were, but one day we were focusing on everything choricera. So it was justlike the suadero, the longaniza, Campechano and tripa. And then the other days we were focusing on al pastor because, Because it was just you and me, her, his sister helping us out. We couldn't, you know, do the full service, let's say. But literally the first day that we, you know, we publish this on, we put out, I remember I printed a page and I put it in the elevator here in the building, like, oh, soft opening! suadero, tripa, you know, tacos. And then suddenly we see like waves of people, you know, just coming into the restaurant, which was really stressful.

00:28:45 Jenny: So you guerrilla marketed this. So..  which is super interesting. Now you all have a pretty hefty Instagram following with 66,000+ or something. I think last time I checked when I was preparing for this, and I'm curious, were the early days, was that part of that strategy or was it really just like OG guerrilla marketing, invite the neighbors, put up flyers and let her rip. 

00:29:14 Tania: Yeah, no, it was literally like that. It was just word of mouth. And at some point during the pandemic too, we were doing a lot of outdoor parties here in Transmitter Park. We would take our DJ equipment and generator, and I feel like that way, we also started to meet a lot of people from the neighborhood, like they would just literally hear the music approach us. And I think I really think that helped to get a crowd into those first days. It was just our friends, the neighborhood. And actually at that moment, I remember like, you know, some look from Eater at that point, he was just there. I didn't even know how he found out. And someone else from Infatuation, just like they just came the very first days and they started to writing about it and yeah, that was that's it was very organic. I feel like how the crowd and the lines at the beginning, honestly, the lines were there because it was just really our first time cooking and we were putting like toppings ourselves, you know, like, do you want cilantro? Spicy salsa? No spicy? So it was, it took longer everything. And yeah, obviously we had to adapt on all of that. But I, it was a little mix of, you know, a lot of friends, people coming and also us kind of like learning how to do to optimize the kitchen time.

00:30:40 Gio: I guess. Uh, let's not forget that this is during the pandemic. And everybody, nobody has really a job. So people were really not minding on being outside, drinking beer, hanging out. There was, you know, for an hour until you get your taco, you know, delivered to you. And that I feel like it helped really creating a divide, you know, of being inside and outside the restaurant, which our neighbors didn't love and they still don't love. But like that is the vibe of the place. It's just a really small space that you can either standing or sitting doesn't matter if you're outside, you just eat outside. And I

00:31:21 Alex VO For those that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Gio and Tania’s first concept Taqueria Ramirez, it’s a 12 seat, counter service restaurant nestled into a cozy side street in bustling Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

00:31:33 Gio: I wanted to replicate the vibe of Mexico City of, you know, street stands that you, you eat around the spot and you don't, you don't mind if you necessarily have a stool or not, you know?

00:31:46 Alex: The weather is a little different here in Greenpoint.

00:31:48 Gio: I  always forget about that. Yeah.

00:31:49 Alex: What was your thought about your taco stand?

00:31:53 Gio: It was great during summer and we we are open on September which was still decent. But, but definitely our first winter was like, we're like, 

00:32:08 Tania: It was tough.

00:32:09: Gio: Yeah, it was tough. And um, we realized that yeah, like our space is small and people don't white people don't want to eat outside.

00:32:15 Tania: Yeah, no. And I feel like there's always a perception of, oh, there's going to be a line and I don't want to be in the cold, you know, while waiting for my tacos, no?I mean, honestly, yeah, we just have to go through it. Um, yeah, literally, because we don't know her. We never wanted to offer takeout because. Or delivery because as you know, like the lard, the fat of the tacos is just perfect. When you get it on the spot and you eat it in the moment, like you cannot wait a long time. It just has to be something quick, you know? So yeah, once you start getting into delivery, I mean, people, it will, they will not be happy. So that's something that we since the beginning we avoided. And yeah, I guess it's just like we know that the busy season is when the when there's good weather and we just have to, to go through the winter like that.

00:33:12 Jenny: So you started this taqueria in the middle of a pandemic on good vibes and, you know, sort of like a dollar and a dream, I like to say. And the love of the neighborhood. So when did you figure out how to make the restaurant operationally sound and those kind of things? And was there help from other industry professionals? Like who was, who were the opening team? I mean, I know you mentioned you had friends in the industry. So it sounds like it was the two of you. Were there other people in the team? And then how did it how long did it take for you guys to go from, you know, really figuring it out and getting your operations down?

00:33:40 Gio: Um, so the yeah, the original team was me and Tania, um, Bernardino, who was our first taquero, he was in charge of the pastor. He was in charge of the choricera station and Carlos was, uh, he worked with,

00:33:55 Tania: Other Carlos.

00:33:56 Gio: he was our uh, yeah, other Carlos. um, he was our Painter in the studio. Uh, and we offered him a job as a, you know, Tortilla Man. And, you know, this is a pandemic. So everybody's like, yeah, man, I need, I need work. So we, we show him how to flip tortillas and, you know, make sure they're quality and, you know, like the flow everything. And he got it really well. And when I moved from the choricera, he took over the choricera for me. So he, he really got it. And he was great at that job. Um, so when, so I guess it took us probably probably a little more than a year, but I feel like after the first year we nailed it, more people in the team we had, um, it felt like we, we had a structure now and we had the team and, and I feel like we were always very happy, you know, of like having a, just a solid team. We, we never, back in the first year or the first two years, we were always the same people. So that helped a lot to, to just solidify the structure. We didn't have like changes or like having to train different people all the time, which would it be chaotic. And you know, us as a business owner will have to be constantly like teaching or like, you know, like that was really, really easy to handle in a way. Not not easy and probably not easy, but, but it was easy enough for us to really after a year just fine. Okay, this is, this is working. And now me and Tania, we can step out a little bit and we can start like, I guess just, just, you know, enjoying this a little more and, and have, I feel like I was stressed a lot of the time in the beginning, because I was so inside the kitchen that I was never aware of what's happening out there. And what's the reaction of the customer. So like I, I was, I was always asking, Tania, tell me about this or tell me about that. And, and I, as soon as I could step up outside the kitchen, I understood more of the flow, the front of house. So that's when we started structuring ourselves more. But I think from the very beginning, me and Tania, we were like, okay, you, Tania, you’re front of house, I am back of house, I'm going to take care of the kitchen and the kitchen staff and you do the rest. I'm going to take care of the bookings and the legal, and you take care of the media and, you know, the branding, you know, so we were like splitting from the very beginning. And obviously, I mean, this is this obviously helped us out that me and Tania were working together already for like four years at least. So we, we knew how to blend each other's skills, and that obviously helped a lot on figuring things out throughout that first year.

00:36:49 Jenny VO: Gio and Tania opened Taqueria Ramirez in 2021 to critical acclaim and long lines. This season, however, we’re focused on their growth, so lets fast forward to their decision to open more spaces, the first being Carnitas Ramirez in 2024…

00:37:02 Tania: Yeah. No, I mean just um feeling of that, um, 2022 to 2026, we decided to open another restaurant, which is Carnita Ramirez, and I feel like that we had the mindset of it being Taqueria Ramirez 2.0 when we were looking for spaces in Manhattan and we found this spot, which it was, um, it was really in bad state and, but the location is great and the rent is actually pretty awesome. So it was, uh, yeah, when we found it and they told us the rent, we're like, okay, we'll fix it, we'll fix everything. And first we wanted that to be, like I said, a Taqueria Ramierez, but the space, I feel like the taqueria, it's really the space has to know more. Like the kitchen defines the kitchen and the floor defines the shape of the space that needs to be. And in this other location, we found it was kind of like a weird space because it's two rooms divided by a tiny little hall. So we didn't really visualize the taqueria being there, and we were already talking with our two other partners, Ivan and Kari, of doing this project. So, you know, we just talked to them for a bunch of times, and that's when Carnitas doing the Carnitas concept started. And at the end, it was also something that pushed us to, you know, think outside of the box, maybe doing a taqueria, it will be easier, no? But we wanted to complement this, this project and we felt like carnitas is also… Carnitas, and a lot of other Mexican food type of concepts are still, you know, something that can be developed in New York. So carnitas was like, okay, let's just do this. Just have fun doing another new thing, you know? And that we opening. Oh, what, what was it? 2024. No. Yeah. We opened in 2024 and we're almost two years this year. So we kind of like also enjoyed that for a couple years. Until this year. I feel like, I mean, throughout all these years we have been looking for opportunities. So there's a lot of, you know, brokers, people that approach us like, oh, I have this space here. I have this space that. And it always has to be like a combination of the space being, uh, the right size, the right neighborhood to like, if we see that it's a neighborhood that we don't feel attracted to, we just ditch it, no? And also the rent, we, it's a particular, um, aspect that we always try to consider. Obviously, no? We don't want to pay huge amounts of rent. So all these three spaces that we grabbed this this year, it was just kind of like that, you know, it made sense in the moment because the rent was good. The opportunity presented, as you know, for example, in Smith Street, our landlord, he's a customer from the Taqueria and he's a great friend now. So he gave us a lot of, you know, free rent and that type of thing that… in West Village, the kitchen was already there and not much work we had to do. So that was like, okay, a no brainer also. And the area is just, you know, you have seen the space. It's just so beautiful. It's a no brainer also. So yeah, those I guess it just happened naturally that way this year that we decided after many conversations, okay, we can do this.

00:40:44 Gio: I just want to add that. Um, I mean, the reason I feel that we decided to go to different concepts is, uh, when you asked me, it made me feel like we also during the, during our experience with Taqueria Ramirez, we really fell in love with the industry and with the, what it means the work that we were doing there. And I feel like it also. You also learned how to respect your your work a lot and how to keep it sacred in a way. And I feel like we always have that feeling of that if we just decide to, to copy and paste this concept, it will come the day for us that that we will probably not care about it anymore in the same way. And, and we will not treat the spaces with the same attention or with the, it will just not... The spaces we would not ask us to to, you know, put the same effort on them. And and I feel like that for us was something that we we always had in mind and we didn't want it to fall into that. And I feel like forcing us to do always something different was the way for us to be integrated, like fully on what we're doing and invest it and, and, and in every concept and just like, take the, the real effort and do everything at once again, you know? And I feel like that's what's happened this year. And we didn't really choose of doing the three concepts this year at the same time during the same year. But it really did just happen that way of like, the opportunities just came together at the same time. And we didn't want to just, we didn't want to reject those, those lineups of, you know, the, the starting lineup in that way. So that's why we were like, okay, fuck it. Let's do it. 

00:42:24 Tania: And also, very importantly, the right partners. I feel like that's something that if it was just you and me doing it by ourselves, that would have yeah, maybe another story. But thankfully, we have found people that, including Carlos, that we really connect with, and that obviously is making it easier for us and for the concepts to come to life.

00:42:50 Alex VO: On that note, we’ll part with Gio and Tania, knowing a bit more about how they got their start. Next time, we’re diving further into what it’s like to open not one, but two new restaurants, both with ambitious timelines.  

00:43:01 Jenny VO: This season will feature special guests including Award winning Chef Missy Robbins and Nascar legend Jimmie Johnson. Stay tuned for more episodes of the Build 201 presented by Square.

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00:43:17 Jenny VO: The Build is produced by me, Jenny Goodman, along with Alex McCrery and Sam Gerardi. Our audio engineer for this episode is Sam Gerardi. The show is produced in partnership with Square. You can learn more at Square.com. Be sure to subscribe to the build wherever you listen to podcasts, and follow along @TilitNYC for special behind the scenes moments and more from the show. 

00:43:38 Alex VO: The Build is presented by Square. Supporting restaurant owners and small businesses with the tools they need to start, run and grow. To learn more, visit square dot com. And we'll see you next time on The Build.

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