Deposit That

The restaurant industry is among the toughest ones. There is high employee turnover and you have to put your heart and soul into your business if you want to keep loyal people and have customers knocking on your door.

Lizeth waited to get in the restaurant family business until she knew she had the skills necessary to grow it to its maximum potential – a Peruvian Franchise Empire. Her vision is, “When people think of Peruvian food, I want El Gordo to be among the first places that come to their mind.”

In this episode, Lizeth is telling us her story of how she fought to remain in the U.S when she was close to being deported. We discuss the faults of the American Immigration System and what an immigrant has to go through to continue living in our country and we also touch upon what it takes to be a true leader.

Lizeth Morales started out her career in the restaurant industry in 2012 and now she works alongside her mother to take El Gordo Restaurant to the next level. Prior to becoming a Restauranteur, she worked in corporate America for 6 years as a Senior Sales and Training Manager and from the outside, she was living the “American Dream” – at the age of 29 she had a successful career she had worked very hard to attain and was a first-time homeowner. However, in 2012 she had to come face to face with her truth: she was one of the approximate 11 million young people living in the U.S as Dreamers.

She was detained in an immigration detention center for 17 days, lost her career and had to mentally prepare herself for the possibility of leaving a country she called home for the past 23 years. Listen to Episode 21 of Deposit That, to find out how that story ends.  

Questions I ask:

• How has that first time we met evolve to today in your opinion? How do you see that relationship that we've built? (02:44)
• How long did they actually have you detained for? (20:10)
• What are some tips you can give other people that have restaurants or want to open up restaurants? (31:54)
• I know you’re doing a “Green Sauce” challenge. Tell us about that. (35:11)
• What's one thing you want to leave people with, to deposit to their memory bank, that they can implement?

In this episode, you will learn:

• Lizeth’s professional journey. (04:19)
• Her personal story. (09:42)
• One of the most frustrating things with the immigration system, for a person that has to deal with it. (15:09)
• The thoughts that ran through Lizeth’s mind the day she got arrested. (17:00)
• How she got her first El Gordo. (28:03)

Connect with Lizeth:

• Website
• Instagram El Gordo
• Personal Instagram