From selling tortillas in the slums of Mexico to opening up one of the fastest-growing Mexican restaurant chains in California, Gabriel Barajas has come a long way. Founder and owner of the renowned TacosWay, his humble beginnings aided him in the process of becoming who he is today.
Born to an underprivileged household, Gabriel had to start from scratch. His would-be Mexican cuisine empire started with him helping his father to sell tortillas in their neighborhood. Despite hard beginnings, his family maintained a positive mindset, which grew on him. With his passion for food and drive for success, he has grown TacosWay to be extremely popular among food lovers. The brand enjoys a huge following of hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms.
From Rags to Riches
The road to success is never easy and Gabriel is a testament to it. His family’s earnings weren’t enough to meet their needs, so he had to work to provide for his family. A family business changed the fortune for Gabriel as he persisted in his goal of creating a food brand loved by one and all.
His hard work paid off
At 12, he would help his mom with sweeping floors, cleaning chalkboards, and vacuuming rooms. Then he got a job at 15, bagging groceries. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish high school and got married at a young age. He endured many hardships, including financial setbacks in the family business. Despite this, his hard work did pay off and his dream of opening a restaurant chain was finally a reality.
Unparalleled persistence led the way
In the face of adversaries, he stood firm and never gave in to failures. The financial burden of the family business was reduced when he opened a store in Canoga Park. He was selling hotdogs. However, things weren’t getting better. Inspired by his family’s origins of selling tortillas, he named the restaurant “TacosWay” and worked on branding it better to food enthusiasts.
Sincere gratitude was his motivation
His positive outlook in life enabled him to stick to his mission and succeed. He has since opened restaurant branches in 5 locations. Despite the difficulties he had faced along the way, he is still grateful for all of it. He acknowledges that his time in Mexico was one of the best times in his life. From the humble streets of his homeland, he learned the meaning of hard work and persistence. Through this, his gratitude for everything that he has earned along the way keeps him going forward.
After opening his restaurant, his social media presence is what drove his business to new heights. He was the talk of the town on Facebook and Instagram after he released a song promoting his restaurant. With the growing buzz on social media, TacosWay has grown and gotten more popular over time. Their official website has more information about them along with directions to restaurant branches.
Still in awe of his success, Gabriel thinks it is surreal that people have come to love his food so much. Who would’ve thought that a small tortilla restaurant would grow to have multiple branches and serve food lovers across California? Gabriel certainly has the life lessons he learned as a kid growing up combined with social media for branding to thank for his success.
