El Pescador: 11 Brothers, 14 Restaurants

BY ED AVIS

If you want to find the heart of the Ortiz family, a famous Mexican restaurant family in southern California, you can find it at the old family home in Downey. It’s the home that belonged to Carlos and Isidra Ortiz, and it’s the home where their 11 sons still gather nearly every Monday to talk business, share ideas, and drink tequila.

            “Nobody lives in the house anymore, but there’s always someone there,” says Eliazer Ortiz, Jr., one of Carlos and Isidra’s grandchildren and manager of the El Pescador Family Restaurant in Bell Gardens, California. “The house is more symbolic than anything; it symbolizes our family staying together, staying unified.”

            Ortiz believes family unity has been key to the success of El Pescador, which was founded by his father, Eliazer Sr., and two of his uncles in 1983. Today the 11 uncles own and operate a total of 14 El Pescador restaurants throughout the area.

            “My grandfather always taught them to be a unified family,” Ortiz says. “I think one of the main reasons they succeeded is the values my grandparents gave their sons. My grandfather was a bracero (a temporary worker from Mexico). He taught the family about the hard work ethic and the importance of determination and staying away from the comfort zone.”

SMALL-TOWN ROOTS

            Most of the Ortiz brothers were born in Degollado, a city of 20,000 in Jalisco, Mexico.

As the family grew, they first moved to Mexico City, and then one by one in the 1970s and ‘80s emigrated to the United States. They made Downey their new family base.

          They came with Carlos’ work ethic implanted in their minds, and a strong Catholic faith that Ortiz says continues to guide them. Some of the brothers, including Eliazer Sr., worked in restaurants in the area. Eventually they realized the restaurant business could be their future.

            “In 1983 my father and my uncles Manuel and Abel bought a little restaurant across the street from the current location,” Ortiz says (by “current location,” Ortiz means the restaurant that he now manages, often called “Number 1” because it is technically the original El Pescador). “They all came together and designed a Mexican seafood menu. A lot of the dishes they came up with then are still on the menu today.”

            Uncle Abel eventually left to pursue other opportunities, but Ortiz’s dad and Uncle Manuel persisted. “My father and Manuel made a brotherly pact—they swore they would do whatever was needed to succeed, including working 16 hours a day, 8 days a week!” Ortiz says. “There was no other way to do it.”

            The work paid off. As the original location became popular and succeeded, other brothers joined Manuel and Eliazer Sr. They learned the menu and how to run a restaurant, and eventually moved on to start their own locations of El Pescador.

STRENGTH IN INDEPENDENCE

The 14 El Pescador restaurants are not technically a chain, as each is independently owned by one of the brothers. While the menus are similar—all focus on authentic Mexican seafood—the brothers are welcome to make decisions they feel best fit their locations.

            “Some of the brothers would argue that one of the reasons for their success is that they all are allowed to do their own thing,” Ortiz says. “They don’t have to adhere to corporate rules, there’s no uniform decision-maker. Everyone has the freedom to explore new things.”

            One of the latest innovations is a change in format – the newest restaurant in the group is El Pescador Bar & Grill in Montebello, Calif. The concept uses some of the same family recipes, but features a livelier, sports bar-like atmosphere to attract a younger crowd.

COMMITMENT TO FRESH

            One thing that doesn’t vary among the brothers is a commitment to using fresh, high quality ingredients. At “Number 1,” for example, everything from the salsa to the margarita mix to the agua de jamaica is made in-house.

            Among the most popular menu items are ceviches and other seafood appetizers, such as Camerones Aguachiles (raw shrimp marinated in sauce made with lemon juice and jalapeños, served with cucumbers, purple onions, and avocado) and Vuelva a la Vida (shrimp, octopus, abalone, and oyster cocktail).

            The most famous entrée on the menu is a family recipe called Empapelado, a seafood medley of abalone, shrimp, octopus and fish steamed in foil with spices and cream of mushroom, served with rice, salad, and guacamole.

            What beverage goes well with seafood? Michelada, of course. Ortiz says El Pescador was the first restaurant in the area to serve the spicy beer and tomato juice beverage. “When we first brought it here, we wanted to be known as the ‘house of michelada.’ But it’s exploded so much, now every Mexican restaurant around here serves it.”

            The quantity of Mexican restaurants in the area—Ortiz says the population of Bell Gardens is 95 percent Latino— means that El Pescador cannot rest on its tradition to bring in customers. They explore new recipes and ideas constantly.

            “We have to keep changing and evolving to remain competitive,” he says. “We always ask ourselves, ‘Why should someone come here to eat?’”

PROCESS PAYS

            Another key to El Pescador’s success is a tightly run kitchen, where time management, smart delegation, and education are stressed, Ortiz says.

            “We really invest in our kitchen staff,” he explains. “Everyone in the kitchen knows all the jobs, so they can switch posts easily.”

            Ortiz says many employees start at the bottom and work their way up. A “buddy system” ensures that they learn the basics, then they start at dishwasher. “If they show the capacity and the want, they can work their way up to line cook,” he says.

            One thing all kitchen employees are taught is to pay close attention to detail, from the first plate out in the day to the last. “I tell people, ‘This may be the 500th ceviche you’ve made today, but for that customer it’s the first one.’ We want every dish to be right.”

A NEW GENERATION

            Ortiz is not the only member of the next generation involved in the family business. Many of his 60+ cousins and second cousins have also gravitated to it.

            “I think the people in my generation see those same values that our parents and grandparents had,” he says. “They are very important to us as well. And I think most of them are showing an interest in the restaurant industry and growing the brand even more than it is now. A lot of the uncles are saying, ‘It’s your job now—you’re on deck.’”

            Click here for the the recipe for El Pescador’s Camerones Aguachiles (raw shrimp marinated in sauce made with lemon juice and jalapeños, served with cucumbers, purple onions, and avocado).

Ed Avis is the publisher of el Restaurante.