Mexican Immigrant Turns a Single Taqueria into a $25M Restaurant Group

Vicente Del Rio opened his first taquería while studying accounting in Mexico City — so when he came to Los Angeles in 2005 on an investor’s visa, it was only natural for him to start a restaurant serving up food from his homeland. Now his company, Frimex Hospitality Group, has grown to employ 380 people across nine Mexican restaurants in California and Nevada, and has annual sales of $25 million.

Those numbers will go up still further when Del Rio opens his next two eateries, in Las Vegas and Beverly Hills, later this year. “Each time we open a restaurant, we create jobs for 60 or 70 more people,” Del Rio says. “It makes me so happy.”

Each time we open a restaurant, we create jobs for 60 or 70 more people. It makes me so happy.”

It wasn’t easy for Del Rio to achieve that kind of success in a country that wasn’t his own. “It was complicated, because it’s very different than doing business in Mexico,” he says. But Los Angeles proved the best place in the world to go through that process, because of the city’s diversity and its commitment to supporting immigrant-owned businesses.

According to New American Economy’s new Cities Index report, which ranks the most welcoming cities for immigrants across the United States, Los Angeles scores especially highly on Government Leadership and Equitable Access — a sign that local officials are committed to supporting new arrivals and helping would-be entrepreneurs find their feet.

“There are a lot of meetings and forums on how to do business as a foreigner here,” Del Rio says. “Even the Mexican consulate tries to support businesspeople and employees from Mexico. There are all types of services.”

That broad-based network of support makes it possible for immigrants like Del Rio to succeed and build thriving businesses. In fact, according to New American Economy, more than half of Los Angeles’ entrepreneurs are foreign-born, with the city’s Hispanic business owners alone running almost a third of a million enterprises and employing more than 160,000 city residents.

“LA is very multicultural — you find all kinds of people from all over the world coming here to do business,” Del Rio says. “It’s a very great city for businesses.”

Del Rio tries to repay the city by supporting local causes. His restaurants have participated in charity events like the Tacolandia benefit for El Pueblo Park Association, and charity fundraisers for the American Cancer Society. In 2010 Del Rio also co-founded the Taste of Mexico Association, which promotes Mexican culture and cuisine.

Del Rio says that he’s grateful to the city of Los Angeles for welcoming him and helping him turn Frimex Hospitality Group into a thriving and successful business. Municipal leaders have made it clear that they view the city’s diversity as a key competitive strength, and its immigrant entrepreneurs as a powerful driver of economic growth, Del Rio explains.

“Mayor Garcetti has been doing a great job of supporting all the city’s Hispanic communities, along with European immigrants, and Asians, and people from all other cultures,” Del Rio says. “We’re all made to feel very welcome here.”