Haz clic aquí para leer esto en español
Kneeling, the siblings' father, Rogelio Coconi; behind him is their mother, Elvira Alvarez; Aldo Coconi; and Luis Coconi. In back row, Rigoberto Martinez and Alexis Flores.
By Natalia Otero
A lot of people stay up late, whether because they work late or are just out on the town. And a lot of them are hungry! For them, there's nothing better than finding authentic tacos 24 hours a day.
In 14 communities across the upper Midwest, these people can turn to Giliberto’s Mexican Taco Shop. Each location of this family-owned multi-unit, founded in 2014, is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The challenge in running a chain of round-the-clock restaurants is enormous, but the siblings who run it – Aldo, Gabino and Maria Coconi -- have a well-oiled system. They learned it while working with their uncle José Álvarez at the renowned restaurant Los Gilberto’s in Colorado, which also offers 24-hour service.
The siblings worked in their uncle’s restaurant for 10 years in the early 2000s, and then, 14 years ago, they had the vision to move to Utah to continue their uncle’s legacy, but with their own restaurant.
“Over time, we have followed what we learned at Los Gilberto’s, while adding our own lessons,” says Aldo Coconi. “My uncle sold a variety of tacos with grilled and marinated meat, and we have added tripe, chorizo, head, and other varieties.”
The siblings also have added desserts to the menu, such as churros, and included vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. They offer the most popular street foods, such as burritos, tacos, tortas, gorditas, soups, machetes, and guachares.
Mom’s Recipes
Although they learned how to run a restaurant from their uncle, all the recipes and flavors come from their mother, Elvira Álvarez Salas. Born in San Luis de Potosí, Mexico, she taught her three children how to cook, and everything they offer at the restaurant is a family recipe. According to Aldo, she taught them that the most important thing is to cook with heart and taste, so that this is conveyed in what you serve. Eventually, this will be reflected in the money you earn.
“If you do something wrong, you won’t sell it. That’s why you have to do it well and with enthusiasm. Having variety is very good because we focus on the Latino community, and that’s what the Latino community is looking for: variety, finding that something you can’t find here. If over time we see that something isn’t selling, then we take it off the menu,” explains Coconi.
The most popular menu items vary with time of day, he adds. In the wee hours, for example, the most popular items are tacos and burritos. Young people coming in from bars want tasty, heavier fillings such as potatoes with cheese, guacamole, sour cream, and protein.
Naturally, the round-the-clock hours also requires different staffing at different times of the day.
“We’ve learned to manage the staff at night because we know the demands of restaurants,” Coconi says. “There are some locations where we leave the cashier at the front and two guys in the back. There are others where there are more customers, so we leave four guys cooking and two cashiers at the front.”
Weekends are the busiest days, he says. In addition to serving customers in the restaurant, they also do drive-through, online orders, and deliveries.
“The restaurants that do best for us are in Minnesota and South Dakota. This is because they are in college towns, and young people leave the bars and arrive at the restaurant hungry. Also, at those early hours of the morning, we serve people coming off night shifts at Walmart and factories,” he says.
Adding Locations
After the first restaurant, it took the siblings a year to open the second location. From then on, they opened one and sometimes two locations per year, according to Aldo Coconi, who has always been in charge of suppliers and payroll.
From Utah, they went to South Dakota, then Iowa, then Minnesota, where they will open a second location and their fifteenth overall. There, they will offer the same menu, with an added focus on rotisserie chicken.
One of the most surprising aspects of these siblings’ business is that today, after 14 years of work, they don’t have to work as hard or put in the hours they did when they started. They do visit each location to make sure everything is running smoothly. When they open a new location, they make sure that all key knowledge is passed on during training.
“As soon as we open a location, we train the new team. We send those who already know how to do it, along with the recipe book, and we make sure they know how to do everything with the ingredients, the methods, etc.”
The 15 locations are managed by family members: cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, and even brothers- and sisters-in-law.
With multiple locations and a good reputation to uphold, Coconi stresses that management clarity is essential, even with family running things. And, above all, it’s important to be consistent, because customers expect the same quality at every location.
“You have to be consistent all the time. There are good days and bad days, and you can't get discouraged or get sad. You have to keep going.”
Don't miss a thing! Subscribe to el Restaurante's digital publications for free by clicking here.