For the majority of Mexican immigrants, looking beyond the border gates to San Diego and LA offers new hope, the promise of a new life and perhaps financial security.
But Australian-born cult Mexican Restaurant Guzman Y Gomez has thrown up an infinitely more far-flung opportunity beyond the land of the free and the home of the brave, providing expatriate Mexicans career and education opportunities some 13,000km away.
Guzman Y Gomez, the restaurant chain in five Sydney locations, including a new store in the MLC Centre, and planning to expand nationally as a franchise, took the step of bringing over a specialist Mexican chef when it opened its first fast casual concept restaurant in Newtown three years ago.
The chain has duplicated the practice throughout its expansion, importing Mexico’s culinary finest including chefs and support staff to be the backbone of each location.
“I brought over an expert Mexican chef that had been schooled in preparing quality food fast; this was the crucial element I couldn’t find here. Fast is half the mission,” said GYG founder, Steven Marks.
“We developed an upscale tacqueria with the best staff of their kind in Australia - mostly Latin staff on working visas and going through college.
"Part of the program is that we are paying for their education. Turnover is a key concern in Australia but my staff never leave, three quarters stay.”
According to Marks, the rewards for his staff’s leap of faith was reciprocated.
“These people are the best at what they do, nothing in our genre in Australia can seriously compare to the food we offer. We can continue to grow through them, showing a Latin culture and an experience that is exclusively ours.”
With 100 staff and a $4 million annual revenue from an initial 15-staff operation in Newtown in 2006, Marks revealed his expansion plans were to keep growing in NSW and “then head west”, moving interstate.
His business model was purpose-built for the global financial crisis, he said.
“We have found our niche which is the fast casual revolution that has taken hold in the US – that is, restaurant quality food served fast. Australia has high quality, expensive restaurants or Hungry Jacks, nothing in between,” he said.
“We also created a restaurant layout that fortified image he want to present – a spotless open kitchen to show the produce, the slow cooking of the meat, the grilling of the chicken and all in front of people.
Other GYG restaurants are located at Bondi Junction Kings Cross and in the Australia Square CBD.
With such attention to detail, we believe this chain will prosper and grow beyond Sydney's boundaries in no time.