For those of you that live in the pdx metro area, you might find this interesting. I keep seeing more and more of these Muchas Gracias restaurants popping up pretty much everywhere. I had never eaten at one until just this week. It was better than I had expected. Maybe because my expectations were so low I don’t know. But it did pique my curiosity as to where these restaurants originated from and how they’re popping up everywhere in pdx metro suburbia. Found this article from 2007. Quite interesting. And remember, only the worst kind of people are crossing our southern border
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VANCOUVER — Rodolfo Sanchez seems to be modeling his company's expansion after the quick service of his Muchas Gracias restaurants.
The ingredients?
"Determination and hard work," said Sanchez, through his Spanish language interpreter and consultant, Cefar Chavez.
An amiable businessman with a warm smile, Sanchez, 43, apologized for his limited English skills. He's still mastering the language, Chavez said. However, Sanchez understands the business philosophy of establishing market dominance through expansion.
Based in Vancouver since 1997, Muchas Gracias Mexican Food has grown from a single fast-food restaurant to a chain of more than 40 franchised branches throughout Washington and Oregon.
"We expect to open 10 more places in the two states within four months," Sanchez said.
The startups in newer retail developments represent a turning point for his business, said Sanchez, who founded his first Muchas Gracias in a defunct Taco Time restaurant in 1993 in St. Helens, Ore. He moved the concept and headquarters north to Vancouver in 1997, transforming a former Fourth Plain Boulevard Taco Bell, a Hazel Dell A&W, and downtown Vancouver's former Spic'n Span drive-up into Muchas Gracias restaurants. Taking over vacant stand-alone sites helped keep start-up costs low, Sanchez said.
"As we've been growing, we have been accepted in other areas, including shopping centers," he said. Franchise owners, who pay a $100,000 fee, determine where they'll locate. Launching the new franchise from a vacated restaurant can cost between $70,000 and $80,000, Chavez said.
Sanchez said he spent the past two years converting Muchas Gracias to the franchise model and is now set for exponential growth. The eatery's San Diego influenced menu features meat-stuffed burritos, chimichangas and fish tacos.
The Muchas Gracias fast-service concept, in which counter workers relay orders in rapid-fire Spanish, "is very successful in the Anglo community," Sanchez said.
While franchise opportunities are open to everyone, Sanchez said all new Muchas Gracias owners are of Latino descent.
"Most are Mexican-American, but some are from Central, South and Latin America," he said.
The company is fielding requests for information from other ethnic groups.
"However, the ones that are opening new stores are already in, and now they've decided to invest in getting other places," he said.
Experts say franchising will minimize risks to new business owners, especially inexperienced restaurateurs.
"They receive a pre-written business plan, which makes it easier," said James Steiner, a business development specialist with the U.S. Small Business Administration's Portland office. "What you're paying for is branding, logos, uniforms and designs — everything is pre-made. It's also easier to get a small business loan."
Sanchez said he hopes to help new entrepreneurs while expanding to other regions.
"We're looking into Idaho, Colorado, Phoenix and California," said Sanchez, who arrived in San Diego from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1980.
He dreams of opening a restaurant in San Diego, the Californian coastal city where he spent six fearful years living as an illegal immigrant.
He secured his status as a permanent resident in 1986, when President Ronald Reagan enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act.
By then, Sanchez had been working four years at Alberto's, a San Diego taco stand where he acquired a 40 percent stake in the company. He sold his share in 1993, bringing the basic concept and menu northward.
Sanchez said he's seen no signs of discrimination during his tenure as a businessman in Oregon and Washington. Going forward, Steiner said maintaining standards will be crucial to Muchas Gracias' success, as proven by chains like McDonald's.
"It's all about keeping on top of those standards," he said. "We all know what their (McDonald's) milk shakes taste like. You've got to have confidence the quality is kept constant."
Franchising can also mean a substantial boost in the parent company's revenue, Steiner said. "There's quite a bit of profit in selling your name and idea."
Sanchez, who would not discuss company earnings or percentages, said Muchas Gracias employment has grown from 400 people to 500 since 2005. He still owns the chain's four original sites, and while some franchise owners are opening in spaces vacated by larger, sit-down-style restaurants, Sanchez said smaller sites best fit the Muchas Gracias concept.
"Our food is fast food," he said. "That means you can have a full house one moment and it's empty the next."
https://tdn.com/business/muchas-mom...cle_0ca1783d-11d2-5c49-aa78-f5fafc1a3f14.html
