Rick Fraser, co-founder of Rodrigo's Mexican Grill, and Rod Fraser, current president.
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Editor's Note: Rodrigo’s Mexican Grill is a family-owned 10-location multi-unit in southern California founded in 1972 by Roderick and Patricia Fraser. In this Q&A with el Restaurante Publisher Ed Avis, Rod Fraser, the company’s CEO and grandson of the founders, shares some history of his family’s restaurant and reasons for its success.
el Restaurante: How did it come that your grandparents opened a Mexican restaurant?
Fraser: They were in the liquor store business and also a franchisee of Marie Callender’s. My dad was working at one of the liquor stores in Huntington Beach and my grandfather would come and visit him. One day they sat down at a restaurant in the same shopping center, Don Jose’s, and got friendly with the owner. Eventually they opened up a Don Jose’s restaurant with a licensing agreement with the owner. That's how it all started.
Was the restaurant successful from the outset, or did it take a while?
They were pretty successful right away. I don't know how many total restaurants opened and closed over the years, but they landed at around 12 restaurants within a short span of time, within 10 or 15 years. So it was pretty successful right from the beginning.
When did the second generation take over?
My dad, Rick Fraser, was involved from the beginning. He and my grandmother ran the restaurants until she passed away in 1998, and then he took over.
Did he change much at that point, or just keep things the same?
A little bit of both. In 2004 we opened up our first Rodrigo’s, which had nothing to do with the license agreement with Don Jose’s. That was kind of the testing store for a new brand. We knew that our licensing agreement with Don Jose’s would be coming up in 2017 or 2018, and we had to make a decision about it, and eventually we didn’t pick up the option to renew that. We opened a second Rodrigo’s in Temecula in 2008, and remodeled an existing Don Jose’s in Huntington Beach in 2008 and changed that to Rodrigo’s.
How was Rodrigo’s different from Don Jose’s?
The menu was pretty much the same, but the buildings were a lot more modern up to date and prettier.
When did you become involved?
I started working after end of high school, beginning of college, hosting, busing, serving, and I did that off and on throughout college because I went to school in Arizona. When I graduated in 2002 from Arizona, I started managing and I've been doing that since.
Is your father still involved?
He retired in February 2023. He still comes in the office a couple of days a week and still has his pulse on what's going on. I became president when he retired.
Did you make any big changes when you took over?
Not any drastic changes. What we’re concentrating right now is, some of our buildings are 50 years old, even though they’re still successful businesses, we want to update them and do some remodels and facelift refreshers. So take care of our existing products before we start growing.
But you do anticipate growing then?
Yes. We’re looking for growth starting around 2028. We’re looking in-state and out-of-state for that. Arizona is the most logical choice outside of California, so that’s probably the first place we’ll look.
As you grow, do you think all of your locations will remain company-owned, or will you consider franchising?
We’ll consider everything. Right now the plan is to stay company-owned, but if the right partner came along and it would make sense, we would definitely take a look at it.
With that many locations, sometimes it’s a challenge to maintain the standards. How do you maintain standards effectively?
We’re pretty lucky that we have a lot of long-term employees. When I’m talking long term, I’m talking 30 plus years at each location. We have one manager who just announced his retirement, but he’s been with us for 45 years. We have another manager who’s in his 50th year this year. So we have a lot of the culture ingrained through all that, just that knowledge that our employees bring along and help when the new employee comes along, what our company’s about, our culture or how we treat everybody.
As far as our food, maintaining that level, we’re very lucky with our distributors. A lot of them have been with us 30, 40 years. We’re on our first name basis with the owners and they treat us great, just like you expect if you have that kind of relationship. So we’re always getting great product. On the rare occasion where something is subpar, we call them up and it’s fixed that day. It’s not, “Hey, we’ll wait for the next order to come in.” They send somebody out right away and take care of the problem.
What else do you think makes Rodrigo’s successful?
We make everything in all our restaurants every day. We don’t have a commissary, so we make everything fresh every day. And I think that’s kind of unique in this environment, where most people of our size are larger are utilizing a commissary. It costs a little more to make everything fresh in the restaurant, but I think the end result is worth it.
And the restaurant is very family oriented. We treat our employees right and we treat them with respect and we think about their wellbeing first rather than just say, no, this is a business decision. And they deliver that same feeling to our customers.
A lot of our servers and bartenders have regulars who come in just for them. If they went somewhere else, they’d probably follow. They’re that important to what we’re doing. Our servers and bartenders are the face of the company. They’re the ones who interact directly with the customers along with our managers, hosts and bussers. And when you can build that relationship with your customers, they’re coming back.
Can you give an example of ways that Rodrigo puts employees first, like you said, ahead of just a straight business decision?
My grandmother is a great example of that. Back in the ‘70s or ‘80s when we were growing and expanding, a school [near one of our locations] called my grandmother up and said, “Hey, we have a student here who doesn't have much support. He really needs a job.” My grandmother interviewed him and said, “I don't have a job for you, but here’s a couple hundred bucks to help you along your way.” And that gentleman said, “I don't want your money, I just want a job.” So my grandmother gave him the opportunity and he’s been with us ever since. I don’t think he’s ever had another job besides with Rodrigo’s. He’s now a manager and his brother’s worked for us as well.
There were other times when there were cooks in the company and they didn’t really have a place to stay. My grandmother had a second home and she let them live there rent free until they were able to save and buy their own houses. And three of those brothers, two of them worked for us for 50 years, another one 40 plus years. And it’s just that type of relationship, you treat people like that, it goes a long way.
That’s a great story. At this point, are other family members involved with the restaurant?
Yeah, my cousin Melinda [Fraser] is the marketing team. My sister is involved facilities management. I have another cousin who helps out with email marketing, our branded app, rewards and stuff, gift cards and stuff like that. And I have a cousin who manages one of the restaurants, too. And fourth generation, my nephews and nieces are starting to getting entry level jobs in the restaurant.
Are there some pros and cons to having family involved?
There are definitely pros and cons, but first and foremost, we are family. Everybody is pretty local, so everybody visits the restaurants and has their opinions and lets you know what they like what they don’t like. And I think that’s a positive, having everybody involved and having everybody passionate about the company. So for the most part it is 95 percent positive, but at the same time it’s family. So where do you cross that line from business and being a family is where that little gray area is. And sometimes it can be hard to navigate, but at the end of the day, everybody treats everybody with respect and we all love each other and it is truly a family business.
About Rodrigo's
Rodrigo's Mexican Grill is a chain of restaurants serving authentic Mexican food throughout Southern California. The Fraser family opened their first location as Don Jose Mexican Restaurant in Orange, California, in July of 1972. The food is simple, fresh, and made by expert cooks from Jalisco, Mexico, who use traditional ingredients and cooking techniques to create dishes that are bursting with flavor. Rodrigo's Mexican Grill has grown to 10 locations throughout Southern California, each offering the same high-quality food and excellent service that has made the chain so popular.
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