Today we’d like to introduce you to Carlos Warda. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Carlos and Sonia opened up Sabor Mexican Grill in 2006. Both immigrants, it was a struggle to save money and follow all the steps that it takes to open up your own business, but they were both determined. Sonia, a native from Sonora, Mexico crossed the border in the ’80s in search for a better life. And Kamal (or as most people know him by, Carlos) migrated from Iraq for the same purposes. Both of them met in Chula Vista in the 1980s where they fell in love and created a family of their own. Their 4 daughters would all work at Sabor, as well as Sonia’s mother, sister, and other relatives. Making it a ‘family business’. They gained popularity in Lemon Grove for making authentic Mexican cuisine including the famous–mini tacos with handmade tortillas! They eventually came up with the idea of expanding their business and started to cater events. Sonia and Carlos started catering with only their family SUV, and eventually expanded with multiple vans and even a Food Truck! Sabor has now blossomed into a well-known Mexican eatery and has participated in many large local events like SoCal Taco Fest, Tacotopia, and Oceanside Longboard Surfing Club Contest, to name a few!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like all businesses, it has not been a smooth road, there have been many bumps to overcome. To start, we opened in 2006, right before the housing crash and that took a toll on our business, but we remained faithful no matter how many times it felt like it was easier to close up the shop. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred at a time when our catering business was booming. When COVID hit, that dramatically decreased our profits as there were no events to cater and little to no people coming to the restaurant. During this time, we came up with the idea to deliver to our local Lemon Grove clients free of charge! We no longer provide this service since then; however, it did help our business as well as the hungry customers that were too afraid to leave their homes. We are beyond grateful that we were able to remain open during such a difficult time. It’s hard to prepare for the unexpected but hard situations have pushed us to be adaptable and create solutions.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We have an array of dishes that set us apart from others. All of our food is made from scratch which include a mix of traditional Mexican dishes like Menudo, Bistek Ranchero, Sopes, Huaraches, and many more. We also cook street food like Mini tacos with handmade tortillas, Carne Asada Fries and California Burritos that are all popular in our establishment and a favorite among our lovely regulars. Our catering service consists of high-quality, delicious food too. We bring 3 types of meats (Al Pastor on the spit, Carne Asada grilled with charcoal, and juicy Pollo Asado) which are all cooked-on site. As well as our handmade tortillas that are cooked to order, rice, beans, toppings, etc for a very affordable price. We believe good quality food is for everyone! Aside from tacos, Carlos has prepared BBQ, Mediterranean, and even Italian food for those clients that have requested something different; he does it all!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
We have learned that it takes a lot of patience to build a long-lasting business and one has to be willing to put in the hard work and time to achieve goals. However, it is the customers you meet, the friendships you make, and the smiles that you put on peoples face after they take a bite of our food that make it all worth it!
Pricing:
- $12 per person for our taco catering events
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabormexicangrill/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabormexicangrill619/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sabor-lemon-grove-3
