005 | From Busboy to Restaurant Owner: A Burger Success Story | Local Business Breakthrough Podcast - Local Business Breakthrough

Episode Transcript
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Brian Davis (00:05):
Victor, I'm so I'm excited for this man, like I've
known you for over 10 years,yep, and I remember when it
first heard about it, I'm like,rock and roll cafe. I gotta
check that place out. And my nowwife, we were dating back then
we walked in, and there'sVictor, and he's making these
hamburgers. And we had weordered the hamburgers, we

(00:28):
ordered the fries, and there wassome of the best hamburgers that
we've had in Simi Valley. And sothen what did we do? Well, we
kept on coming back, and as wekept on coming back, then we got
to know you you know more, andwe got to start hearing about
your story. And so I'm excitedto have you share kind of your
business journey. To everybodytell us, like, what is it that

(00:50):
got you into starting your ownbusiness? Like, starting your
own business isn't somethingthat most people jump into, you
know. So like, where, where wasit along your kind of journey.
You know that where you're like,Okay, this is something that I
want to do, like I want to have,I want to have my own spot.

Victor Cuevas (01:08):
So basically it was like when I started working
in a restaurant. So when Istarted working in a restaurant,
I see how, like, you startpreparing everything, the food,
how you take care of thecustomer, and everything. And so
I was living in Newbury Park,and this Chinese place was right
there. And I say, okay, yeah,I'm just gonna go and ask if

(01:28):
they looking for something,yeah. And then I went, I asked,
and oh, yeah, yeah, we can, wecan have you from four to to
close, so if you're interesting.
And I say, yeah. So then it'sfunny, because I started, like,
as a kind of like food runner,so I was taking the food out to
the customers and all that,yeah. And then I was seeing the
Chinese they cook, so they weredoing the food and everything.

(01:53):
And I kind of like it. They say,okay, one day I'm going to
start, like, learning how to doit, because it's different,
like, it's a lot of like,ingredients, like, yeah, soy
sauce, ginger, and a lot ofdifferent sauces. And I say,
okay, one day I will start doingit. So when I was my day off, I
always go over there and I wasbehind the the cooks, wow, just

(02:16):
checking and making notes andeverything.

Did it? Did anybody tell you to do that? Or, like,
where did you get the idea?
Like, on your day off, to comeout and just take notes, just
shadow? Yeah,

it was basically my idea. Sometimes, like, I told
people, like, you need to dosomething, like, not thinking
about, like, Oh, you're gonnaget paid. No, sometimes you just
need to, like, if like, you wantto learn something. Just Just do
it. Yes, don't worry about thepay or anything. So just do it.
Just and that's why I wasstarted doing it. Yeah, on my

(02:52):
day off, start learning andeverything. So I learned how to
cook. I learned how to prep allthe food and all the ingredients
and everything. So now it'sfunny, because I was like
learning everything. Then Ilearned how to take orders in
the register. And one day I wastalking to the manager, and I

(03:12):
say, Okay, I want to learn howto how you do the paperwork,
yeah. He said really? I say,yeah. So he said, Okay, I came
every day in the morning, so Iwent over there and I started
taking notes on my free time. Ididn't get paid or anything. So
I learned how to do thepaperwork, cook everything. So

(03:33):
one day, I think the guy gotfired,

and did you learn how to get fired too?

No, no. And they asked him, I think the company
was kind of growing, and he wasmaking kind of, like, a lot of
money. So when that happens,they always, like, kind of tried
to cut the people that aremaking more money. And they
asked him and say, Oh, who doyou think is ready to take your
job? And he named me.

And, of course, he said, Victor. So how did that
feel? Man, how, how long was itfrom the point where you started
showing up on Saturdays so thatyou can learn what the cooks
were doing to when they you hadthe opportunity to take that
manager job?

total together, it was two years.

Two years. Man,

we came from like not knowing anything about the
Chinese food, to learningeverything, paperwork,
everything, ingredients,ordering everything. Yeah, so it
took me two years too.

Were you expecting that that call to come in, or
was it, was it just like asurprise?

No, it was, it was a surprise, especially
because I was that time was Iwas 20 20 or 21 I started there
when I was 18,

dang.

So I was 18 in 20, when I turned 20, that's
when I was my first time being amanager.

So how was it with the other employees? Right?
Like. Was how, how were theywhen you were showing the
initiative to come in on yourown time and learn all this
stuff?

Sometimes it is going to be always those
employees that say, oh, oh,you're going to be nice, You
want to be nice withthe boss.. Isay, No, it's they don't pay me.
I'm here on my free time. Oh,okay, but it's gonna be always
those employees there. Yeah,they don't, they don't say, Oh,
good job, thank you. No, theyalways try like, to say things

(05:31):
about like, Okay, you are notdoing like this for for fun, I
don't know. So it's, it's, it'shard, like, like, I say always,
it's gonna be those employees.
Yeah, I

remember, I was working at this one place. It
was, man I was, I can't evenremember how old I was. I might
have been, like, 18 or somethinglike that. I was, I was doing
data entry, and so, like, I wasprocessing these returns. And if
I was processing, processing thereturns too slow, you know, then
it was stacking up. And then,you know, the people that were

(06:05):
like, working in the warehouse,they'd come in and, you know,
they'd be like, Hey, you got topick it up. You got to pick it
up, you know, it's, it's, it'sstacking up. And so then I, I
applied myself to try to figureout what was the fastest and
most efficient way that I couldprocess these orders or these
returns to enter in this data.
And I got really quick, like,really quick at it, yeah, to the
point where, like, I was gettingall my all my stuff done, and

(06:28):
then I'm just sitting therewaiting. And then they came in
and they started saying, like,dude, like you're going too
fast, you know, it's like, yougot to slow down. You're making
us look bad. And it's like,what, like, what is it that you
want, you know? So, yeah,you're, you're always gonna,
like, kind of have that tensionwhen you know you're really
trying to do something differentthan everybody else that's

(06:53):
that's working there. So how wasit, after doing that for two
years, and then you got thatopportunity, you got that call
to become the manager. How wasit managing these employees?
Now,

it was a challenge because it was funny,
because I was 20 20, years old,and it was employees that were,
like, 30 35, so older than me,and it's hard like for you to be
a leader for them to say ohyou're just a kid, how you're
gonna teach me things? So Ialways told them, I say, Okay,

(07:28):
what do you need from me? Thereis anything I can help you to
to, to make your job more easythan right now? And since I get
all the experience and I knowhow to do like cooking and
everything. So it was easy forme to to talk to them, because
they know I can do what theywe're doing, because sometimes

(07:48):
it's hard when you are amanager, yeah, and you don't
know how to do, like cooking oranything, and tell them and say,
Hey, can you do that? Okay, youdon't know how to do it, so how
you're gonna teach me? So it waseasy for me with them, like
teaching them, because I wasalready knowing how to make it

(08:09):
easy,

yeah. So

that's why I was telling them. I say, Okay, what
do you need from me to make iteasy for you? Where

did you get that perspective from? You know,
Because, I mean, that's, that'slike textbook servant
leadership, you know, whereyou're not looking at yourself
as Okay, now I'm the manager.
Now I'm in charge. Now I justget to tell everybody what to
do, and everybody's serving me,but you're stepping into that
role, and you're taking uponyou're taking the responsibility
on yourself and to makeeverybody else's job easier
there, you know, so that youcould serve them, make sure that

(08:38):
they have what it is that theyneed in order to do the job that
they're supposed to be doingthere.

So basically, when I was 18, I was I always
like to read like, leadershipbooks. So I was reading books
about, like, how to become aleader, how to do the things,
how to work with people, withdifferent people, and all that.
So that way, like that the bookthat was reading on that time,
it was helping me to know how tolead the people.

So, like, how did, how did it feel, like, because,
because you get the knowledge inthe book, but then sometimes you
don't have opportunity to, like,really put it into practice.
Like, how did it feel to like,Okay, now I'm in this situation
where I'm leading these people,and then you face this challenge
where you're getting thispushback, and then you're like,
let me, let me do what I've beenreading. And then all of a

(09:30):
sudden you see it start working.
Like, how was that for you?

I don't know.
It's sometimes, like, you thinkthat the things you are doing
right now, is not gonna affectit in the future. And it affects
it, like, for example, like Iwas reading a book at that time,
I said, Okay, maybe one day Iwill put it like to work. And
when that happened, I was ready.
So sometimes you just need to beready. Sometimes, like, you're

(09:56):
doing one thing right now, yeah.
And thinking or say, Oh, I don'tthink it's gonna do anything in
the future, but eventually it'sgonna, it's gonna happen so

and so did you, did you see this in any family
members? Did you see this Like,were your parents like this, or
was this just kind of like, alike, like, something that just
kind of hit you one day?

No, its something that just gonna hit me one day
and I say, I think now it's timefor me to become a leader. And
it's funny, because before,before 18, when it was like, I
was not like, I say, I don'tthink I'm gonna be a leader,
because I was kind of like,angry all the time, grumpy,

(10:40):
everything I had, I knoweverything about life and
everything.

What were you angry about?

Just like being like being 17 16,

yeah, typical, typical teenage experience where
you just, you know everything,and you're angry at every at the
whole entire world,

yeah, but 1 day, like I say, when I started
working in a restaurant, I seecustomer service and everything
and how you need to be friendlyand nice with everybody, and
knowing that customer always isright. So that that hit me and
say, Okay, I need to change theway I am. I need to be more

(11:21):
friendly. I need to make sure Ido the right thing all the time.
And that's, that's a transitionthat I get

that's amazing, man. And so, like, do we have,
like, burger-Chinese food fusionto look forward to in the in the
near future? Over at Rock andRoll cafe, I had no idea that
you cooked Chinese food. Yeah,

I don't know.
Maybe in the future, it can besomething, as soon

as you want to test something, just let me know.

Absolutely

I'll be, I'll be over there. I'll check. I will
definitely let you know. Sothen, so then you're over at the
you're now the manager. Whathappens? Like, what? What's that
Transition from being managerover over there to then getting
into burgers?

It was funny, because after six months being a
manager, so there it was theburger place next to the
restaurant. So the people aroundthere, they were, like, trying
to hire new, new people for,like, growing the company and
everything. Yeah. So one of themanagers went to the Chinese

(12:27):
place and asked me, you want tobe part of this big company now?

right next door?
That's interesting, man. And

I say, Yeah, because I always want to, like,
grow, yeah, totally. And I say,Okay, I think I can see
potential in this company. Soit's when I decided I talked to
the people from the Chineseplace. I say, i think it's time
for me to go to the next level.

Yeah. And so what did that look like? You know,
like, what was, what was thatnext level, over at the burger
place.

Next Level. I mean, like, for example, for me,
like having more restaurant,like the Chinese place, it was
only just one restaurant, okay,yeah, and the burger place was
already with six restaurants, soit was a company now, yeah. So
it was more rules, more like,like, everything needs to be
like the

other processes are all established.

So I say, Okay, I think now for me, it's, I'm
ready for the next level. So Istarted working out there,
please.

So then, how was it? How was that for you? What?
What position was it that youtransitioned into?

It's funny because I went from being a
manager at the Chinese place tobeing an assistant, because it
was a three levels on the burgerplace. It was a level three,
level two and level one, yeah,so I started as a level three,
so basically the closingmanager. So I was a closing
manager, then you need to workhard to start, like becoming the

(14:01):
second level, the first level,and then become a store manager.
So it was a challenge, becauseit was more employees, it was
more procedures, it was a lot ofmore different things, and
basically a different like food,from Chinese to burgers. So it
was, it was a challenge. Well,

so how long, How long did it take? Did you make
it? Did you work all the way upto that highest position? Yeah,

I worked with that company. I can say about
eight years, eight years, 10years. And I started as a like,
I say, I started as a levelthree, then level two, level
one. I never become a managerthere.

Yeah,

they never gave me the opportunity to kind of
manager, so one, one time. So Iwas working there and I learned
everything, like how to trainpeople, how to like, close the
restaurant, open the restaurant,and manage all the numbers and
percentage and, the numbers thatyou need to know about it, yeah?

(15:03):
And it's when, like, people wastelling me about, like, okay,
Victor, so customer were talkingto me like, Okay, what is your
goal? Okay, how do you see thefuture? And I was working with
the company I say, one day Iwant to have a restaurant like
this, yeah, your own location,totally. So that's when I
started thinking about, like,Okay, I want, now, I want to go

(15:27):
to the next level and open myown, yeah,

and so, was it your own restaurant, where you had
ownership, or was it that, youknow, like, what was there
opportunity? Like, what companywas it? What burger company was
it that you were working for?

The Habit burger.

Oh The Habit. Okay,

so I worked with them.

Okay. Was there, I'm not familiar with their
business model, but is it alljust wholly owned, or do they
franchise? Do they so

when I was working with them, it was like a
kind of family owned, it was twobrothers. Two brothers. They
started in Santa Barbara. And

so you were working there as they were growing that,
you know, and then you got towhere it was the you'd gained
all this experience, and you'relike, I want to go and I want to
do this for myself. And so whatdid, what did that transition
look like it was

funny, because when I started with the ha-, the
the habit, like the guy that wasmy mentor, the guy that teach me
how to like do everything, inthe beginning, I was with him
for one month, then I don't seehim for a long time. And then
after eight years, I saw him atthe restaurant,

Yeah, which one

The Habit. okay.
And he told me, like, hey,Victor, I want to open a
restaurant. You want to help me?
And I was telling him, I say,what kind of restaurant? And he
say, it's going to be a burgerplace like this one. And I said,
and I say, okay, something cameinto my head. I say, okay, if
I'm next to him, I will learnmore about, like, how to become

(17:06):
owner, because right now I'mgonna with a company. They it's
different, because the ownersare right here, and you are
like, right here, yeah. But Iwas thinking myself, I say,
okay, I can be next to him andlearn more about paperwork,
permits and everything. And thenhe told me. He said, okay,
Victor, but I know you're like amanager level one right here. I

(17:30):
can offer you to be a cook withme. And I say, okay, it's okay.
So I went from being a manager,yes, man, to be a cook.

So you So, Chinese restaurant, you go from running
orders to becoming the manager,and then you get the opportunity
to go into The Habit. You startas an assistant, and then work
up to manager. And now you havethe opportunity to kind of get
into, you know this, this newburger place that's starting,

(18:04):
but instead of you coming in asa manager, you come in as a
cook.

As a cook,

wow.

So it's funny, because sometimes you need to go
a little bit back,

totally man, totally. That just speaks of,
like, a lot of humility, andlike a lot of you know, just
like you're not thinking abouttoday, but you're thinking about
what's going to happen in thefuture, you

know. And it was funny, because when I started
with him, I say, Okay, let's doit. So I was very excited ready,
because I had the experience andeverything. And it was, it was
good for two years, yeah, butafter that, I was kind of like
getting down a little bit, so itwasn't enough hours for me. So
then I, I decided to go toanother restaurant, because I

(18:50):
say, Okay, I don't have enoughhours right here.

And so was it. So what? What was going on with the
restaurant? So you go overthere, he's kind of leading it.
You know you're working as acook, you're not you're not
getting the hours that you need.
Like, is the restaurant notdoing well? Like, is it
struggling?

The thing with the restaurant its always, like,
the first year something, it'salways going to go up. Yeah, but
it's going to be hard to keep iton the same level. If you don't
work hard to keep it, like, onthe same level, it's gonna start
going down,

so it's gonna be really inconsistent.

And that's why, like, he was thinking about
like, Okay, I need to cut hoursand everything to manage. Like,
it's not making good so, yeah,okay, cutting hours and
everything. So that's why it waskind of like, I say, Okay, no
problem. I will definitely. So Italked to him and say, Hey, I
think I need to find anotherjob, because right here it's not

(19:48):
gonna it's not working for me.
So then I find another like arestaurant. It's funny, because
these guys were Armenian. Theyare Armenian, and they want to
open a Restaurant, but theydon't have experience. They have
the money, but they don't haveexperience to open a restaurant.

What kind of restaurant is it that they want
to open up?

And it was like a Barbecue, barbecue restaurant,
okay. And somebody like told me,Hey, Victor, you definitely need
to go and talk to them. So Iwent there and I talked to them.
I introduced myself. I say, I'mVictor. I'm I've been working in
a restaurant for this this this.
So it's I tell them all myexperience and all that. I say,
Okay, you're gonna, you're gonnabe our manager. Wow. So okay, so

(20:29):
I started, like training withthem, with the company. It was,
I don't know if you rememberDickey's BBQ pit that used to be
here in Simi Valley.

Vaguely familiar. I don't know if I ever went to it.
Yeah, it

was pretty much like right here on top of Tapo
Canyon. Okay, okay, so that,that restaurant it was, was
really good, yeah. So I startedtraining with the company. They
trained me for like six twomonths until they opened the
Simi Valley location, I was inVentura training, and then I
went to Simi Valley when theyopened it, and they say, okay,

(21:10):
Victor, it's your time. So Ihire people, and I do
everything. And it was great.
The food was excellent. We usedto cook brisket 14 hours every
day, pulled pork, everything. Soit was, it was a really good
restaurant, a little expensive,but it was a good restaurant.
And then I was there for, like,for one year.

Okay, how did, how did that? How did that feel? I
mean, going from, like, yourjourney, I didn't know all these
details of your journey. I mean,we've known each other for like,
10 years, but like, I didn't, Ididn't know all of this history.
How did it feel to, like, gofrom, you know, like, all of the
experience that you've had tonow being a cook, to not even

(21:54):
having the hours that you needto survive, and then, like, now
you're like, given the keys, andthey're like, Victor, you do it,
and now you're hiring your team,you're running your team. You're
running everything, like, I'msure, probably full time, if not
even more than full time, like,how, how was that for you? It

was good, I always see that like, as
experience. I know it wassomething very different from
being a cook, and then theybecome a manager, train people
and everything. So I say, yeah,it was, it was a challenge for
me, but like I say, I acceptit, so let's do it, and it works
so, so and I was there for likea year, until one time, I

(22:40):
remember him. He asked me onetime and say, okay, Victor, you
are my manager right here. Sowhat is your goal? What is your
dream? What you What do you wantto do, like in your future?
Yeah, so I told him and say,Okay, I want to have my own
restaurant, like right now youhave yours. I know I'm your
manager. And he asked me to say,why you don't have it? so yeah,

(23:03):
I told him and say, because Idon't have money, yeah, and he
told me, Victor, never say that.
Never say that you don't havemoney. Just focus on your dream
and it will happen. I say, okay,so I just remembered that. And
then two months later, the guyfrom Rock N Roll Cafe called me

(23:26):
say, Victor, you want to takeover the restaurant? I wanna,
I'm maybe I'm gonna close out.

Wow.

And I told him, the first thing I told him and
say, I don't have money, yeah,He said Don't worry.

Wow,

you can pay me the restaurant every month as
soon as you start working. Yeah.
End of the month, you can pay methe first payment for the
restaurant.

So, like, owner finance, wow. And I said,

really? He said, yeah. So he, he told me the
amount and everything. And say,Okay, it's, um, it's a little
it's up there, and it wasn'tmaking like money, like, it was
kind of like a so I say, Okay, Iwas excited, nervous. So the

(24:15):
first thing i i, I went, Italked to the, like, the
Armenian guy and say, Hey, Ihave this opportunity. I think
I'm gonna, I'm gonna quit righthere. And he say, Okay, let me
ask you this. Do you need moneyto to take over the restaurant?
And I say, No. He said See, see,I told you, never focus on money

(24:39):
and just focus on your dream andeventually will happen so and
then it's, I say, Okay, this isthis is me now. This is all.
then in 2014 November 1 2014that's when I started working at
the hab-, uh, rock and rollcafe.

Ah man.

As the owner.

Yeah,

so. And it's when I realized that life sometimes
is is give you like, your lifeis not gonna go like, like that.
No, it's gonna go like that.
Sometimes, like, all the waydown, and then boom. And now,
like, I say, it's been 10 years.

That's amazing, man.

Since we've been running rock and roll, yeah. How

long did it take you to pay off the other owner?

It was about four years.

Okay. How does it feel after you got that whole
entire thing just done?

It was like, say, okay, it was already, let's say
them, I'm ready, and I'm owningnow this. And then it's funny,
because I finished paying therestaurant, yeah, and then the
pandemic happened. So it waslike, I say, I think I was
excited, like, a little bit tooearly for it, because when I

(26:00):
finished paying it. Yeah, thenthe pandemic. This

is one thing after another with you Victor,

I know,

man, it is

still here. Rock and roll still here it

is. And, I mean, that's, that's a rarity, you
know, like, I, I've lived inSimi Valley for decades, and,
like, I've seen restaurants popup and then go away. And for
rock and roll cafe, it's been,you've, you've been running it
for 10 years,

10 years, yeah, you know.

And it's still here. And, I mean, even over at
that even over at that mall,that area, like I drive by, and
there's empty business afterempty business after empty
business, you know. But, like, Ialways know, right at that
corner rock and roll Cafe isthere. You've had a lot of
experience. You've, you know,obviously, has developed

(26:53):
yourself as a leader in your ownperspective. Like, why is rock
and roll cafe, like, still hereafter 10 years?

since it was one on my passion to, like, have my
own business and all that. But Ithink rock and roll Cafe is
still here because of thecommunity. Like us helping the
community, being involved withthe community, and pretty much
like keeping involved with thecommunity, schools, everything.

(27:22):
So, yeah, helping the community,and pretty much

So tell me, like, what are the ways that you're
involved with the community? So

we will do, always do, like, a fundraisers.
Fundraiser, we donate 20% backto the schools every time there
is a carnival or anything at theschools. We go over there and we
always donate 20% back to theschools. So that's, that's the
way we, we've been helping theschools here too, in Simi
Valley. And

so then the schools keep on coming back, yeah. And
then, you know, like, I also, Imean, you're involved with other
organizations like, as well,right?

Yep. So it's like, I say it's been being,
keep involved with everybodyhere in in the town. So, yeah,
that's, that's how to keep theplace,

keep it running.
You realize that you're notjust, you know, you're not just
a business, but you're part of acommunity. You know? It's like
you realized that it's not, it'snot about selling a burger, but
it's about creating arelationship.

It's funny, because I remember when I took
over the place, and I wasworking, working people, that
don't know about rock and roll,yeah, so they say, What is, what
is rock and roll? Sometimespeople, like, they saw our name,
and they think that we havecoffee or we sell, like, sushi

(28:51):
something.

Yeah, that's what I thought when I first drove by.
Like, I'm like, oh, rock androll cafe. I was like, oh,
maybe, you know, yeah, maybeit's maybe some coffee or
something like that. And then Iwas talking to my wife,
Charlene, but I was like, Hey, Ijust saw the rock and roll,
like, this new place over off oftapo street rock and roll cafe.
Like, we could, let's, let's gocheck it out. And she's like,
like, I don't want coffee. AndI'm like, It's not coffee, it's

(29:15):
burgers. Like, let's, let's gotry it. Yeah,

so, because I was asking people and say, Oh, this
is your first time? And theysay, Yeah, this is my first time
here. And I told him, I say, howdo you hear about rock and roll?
They say, Oh, I've been passingby, but I don't know what was
it, like I thought it was likeChinese, like sushi place or
coffee place. So we decided totry it, and now we find out that

(29:40):
it's burgers. They say, okay,they're good burgers. Now, it's
funny, because everywhere I go,like, when they see rock and
roll, they say, Wow, best burgerin town. But it take me 10 years
to to build that because, like Isaid before, they don't know
nothing about rock and roll,yeah. And then after 10 years,
they say, wow. Wow, everything.
Victor, wow. Best burgers intown. Best burgers in town. And

(30:02):
they feel good right now. Theacorn, the paper, the newspaper
right here from Simi Valley andMoorpark, yeah, totally. They
create something that say thebest, the best of the business,
or something. And it wasdifferent, like things like
Mexican food restaurants, anybusiness, yeah. And it comes the

(30:24):
it, okay, what is the bestburger? And we were like, the
best burger of coordinatorsburger and more part in Simi
Valley, yeah. So that feel like,wow. And that keep me motivated
to keep going, to keep makingsure the quality is there, yeah,
the service is there, and makesure the restaurant is clean all

(30:45):
the time. So that's how excited.
That's the

important thing, man. It's the customer
experience. You know, like everysingle time I walk in to rock
and roll cafe, like I not onlyget the same quality of food,
but people that are workingbehind the counter, like, it's
always just a pleasantexperience. You know, it's like,
I walk in, they always have asmile. They're always nice.

(31:12):
Like, I just got back from atrip up to San Francisco, and,
you know, like, I definitelyinteracted with some people that
were having some bad days. And Iget it, like, people have bad
days. I totally, I completelyunderstand, you know. And so I
give, I give people grace, youknow, for that. But like, I

(31:32):
don't think anybody ever has baddays over at Rock and Roll cafe,
at least they don't show it,yeah,

sometimes it's hard. The thing is, when I hired
them, I told them. I say guys, Iknow everybody has bad days,
yeah, but as soon as you openthe door, let's forget about it,
and let's have a nice day righthere at restaurant. And that's,
that's why they are happy. Andthe thing it's when you're the

(31:58):
leader, you need to show them,yeah, they always told me, Oh,
Victor, you're always like,happy. You're never like, like,
telling things or anything. Isay, yeah, that's that's why you
need to be a leader to showthem, like, how to really be
nice with the customers. So it'snice, it too, because, like, I

(32:20):
say, I usually have bad daystoo.

Yeah,

I try to when I'm working, I'm just having fun.

So talk to me a bit about your approach when you're
when you developed, you know,your team over at Rock and Roll
cafe, kind of like yourprinciples, your philosophy,
with, you know, working withyour employees, because it does
it like it's a good experiencewhen we go over there, the

i think its I always tell them and say, we
need to focus on couple thingsright here at the restaurant,
like, friendly is the mostimportant thing, Quality is
another thing, and have therestaurant clean all the time.
So that's other things. Like,for example, when I do the
orientation with employees,that's the first thing I always

(33:10):
tell them. Say, you're going tobe part of rock and roll. Let's
let's be friendly. Add it to the100% all the time, and then make
sure the quality is right thereall the time too. And then make
sure the restaurant is clean allthe time also. So those are the
main focus that We need to,like, take care of the

(33:32):
restaurant right there. And Ialways tell them, Hey, make sure
you focus always on thesethings. And you will see the
restaurant is gonna be busy all

the time. Yeah, do you ever walk in and, like, it's
just kind of, like, not, not upto, up to standard?,

hmm sometimes but usually, like, No, not really,
always. Like, they take care ofthe restaurant. Like, that's why
I'm happy with the employees,because they know what to do,
right there.

That's good man.
That speaks a lot. I mean, thatmeans that they, they enjoy
being there, yeah, you know,they enjoy being a part of the
team youve created. So

I told them to, I say, we need to have a great
atmosphere in our workplace.
Because I told them say, Okay, Iwant you to, like, for example,
it's going to be your time tocome in like 11. I want you to
say, Wow, I want to go overthere. I don't want you to say,
Oh, my God, it's 11. Victor isgoing to be there. I don't want

(34:31):
to go there. No, I want you tobe, be excited to be here. Yeah.
And so far, they are excited tobe there. So of

course, they get to, they get to work at the
place that has the best burgersin Simi Valley. You know. I
mean, how can they, how can theynot be excited about that? They
get to make people happy, right?
Like the customers come in andthey're looking forward to
getting that at Rock and RollCafe burger.

It's like I told them when I do the Orientation,
and say, Okay, how manyrestaurants do you think we have
here in Simi Valley? And theysay, oh, like, all together, I
say, like, any kind ofrestaurant. So they throw a
number, like, for example, 200restaurants here in Simi or
maybe less. I say, okay, so whatdo you think it means to us when

(35:19):
a customer open the door? yeah.
That means, from the 200 choicesthat they have, we were the
winners, yeah. So I want youguys to make sure every time
somebody opened that door, let'smake sure that the customer
satisfaction is right there,because we were the winners from
because they can go anywhere,but when they open the door at

(35:42):
Rock and Roll cafe, that meansthat from those 200 restaurants,
yeah, we were the ones. So

that's a fantastic perspective, man,

and I always tell them to say every time Please,
somebody open the door, means weare the winners from all the
restaurants, even the best,like, for example, like In N
Out, The Habit. Yeah, somebodyopened the restaurant that
means, we are doing something,right. So,

like, talk to me about because every once in a
while, usually on weekends, andhanging out with the kids, you
know, so I'm at home, butthere's been a couple of times
where I've driven by on onSaturday and I've seen your
parking lot just completely fullof all of these, like, really

(36:35):
cool looking cars. Yeah, what's,what's, what's going

on with that? So basically, we have, like a group
of guys. The name of the group,it's a coachman Car Club. And we
do, like a car shows the firstSaturday of every month, yeah.
So it's cool classic cars rightthere. And I think it's a good
to have those because it go withthe name rock and roll, broken

(37:00):
roll from the fifth 50s. So whenthey bring those classic cars, I
think it's a good food streamwith the restaurant. But we
always have that, like, thefirst Saturday above every
month.

How did that start?
Was it something where they camein, the approach to you, like,
what? What started that?

I think that started, like, then, yeah, they
just came, came right there andsay, Okay, can we start doing a
car show right here? And theysaid, Yeah, just bring the cars
and everything. And it wasfunny, because when I was
working for the habit, yeah,anybody Park? It was a car shows
over there too. And then when Iwas talking to them, when I was

(37:42):
right here at rock and roll,they say, I remember you from
over there. Wow. I said, yeah.
So now they say, Yeah, let'skeep supporting this guy. So and
they they bring all the coolcars and everything. And, yeah,
are

you a car guy? Uh, no, neither am I. Like, I see
the cars and I'm like, thatlooks really cool. I have no
idea what it is that looks

awesome. It's funny because they always ask
me, Hey, when are you gonna haveyour classic cars? Yeah, maybe
one day. I i really like thecars and everything, but I don't
know if I definitely like and Idon't know anything about cars.

Yeah, neither do I.
So I appreciate them. You know,I change oil, but that's, that's
pretty much the extent of it. Sowhat is it that you're into? I
mean, besides, besides work and,you know, working on your
business and stuff like thatright now,

a five have a day of, yeah, I do road road bike.
Ah,

road bike like.
Lance Armstrong, yeah, dang man.
How'd you get into that? I usedto do that back in the day. It's
funny,

because I always, I always, when I always saw the
guys like doing the bicycles andeverything. I said, One day I
will definitely start doingthat. Then I met one, one guy
and say, Hey, I have my team inSanta Clarita, you want to be a
part of that? I never been. So Ibuy, I buy my my bike. Yeah, and

(39:10):
yeah. So every time now that Ihave, like, a layoff or anything
I do,

how was how was the first time when you used your
clipping pedals.

It was, it was, it was hard, because if you
don't know how to use it, yeah,

yeah, people, yeah, did you fall at all?

I think one time.
Okay, okay, well, then that's,it's cool. That's, it's,

it's a trip, man, because, like you used to,
you're growing up, like, you gotyour pedals, but then you're
able to get your feet off, youknow, and then all of a sudden,
you're clipping them in, andit's like,

oh man, yeah, you need to make sure how to, like,
unclip it, because you don'tknow how to do it. Beautiful.
Yeah, totally. It's, I'm veryexcited. I like it. Sometimes I
go from from Simi Valley toSanta Barbara,

oh my goodness. How many miles is that?

It's about. 65 man, look at you, look at you,
and it's, this is fun. Becausefor me, it's fun because, like,
I'm driving, I see things theybefore on the car is different.
So now on my bicycle is moredifferent. So I started driving
and everything, and thinkingabout, like, life and

(40:20):
everything. So it's, it's a goodtherapy for me.

Oh, totally student. I never knew that you
cycled. That's awesome. That'ssuper cool. I'll have to look
for you, like when I'm drivingaround. Do you cycle through see
me? Yeah, on a regular, okay,yeah, yeah, I'll, I'll look for
you. That'd be, that'd be fun.
But you've talked about, youknow, that you have this goal
for cycling, you know, andyou've walked us through kind of

(40:44):
like your, your the goals thatyou had for yourself as you were
leading up to rock and rollcafe. What are some of the goals
that you have for rock and rollcafe right now, like, what? What
is rock and roll Cafe going tolook like, you know, in the next
510, years?

So the goal is, like, I say, I want to open more
more locations, so I just wantto keep working hard and
eventually, like when I had theopportunity, and make sure they
go under heating team isestablished 100% then I'm going
to start looking for a secondlocation, yeah, and go from

(41:22):
there to where. When do youthink that's going to happen? I
think, like, my goal is prettymuch like, either 1000 Oaks,
wooden hills or Santa Clarita,yeah. So those are like, kind of
my my goal like Santa Clarita,1000 Oaks or Woodland Hills.
Yeah, that's super good. So opena second location. Because

(41:44):
people always ask me. I say,okay, Victor, you want to open
more restaurant? And say, Yeah,because I want to be an owner,
yeah. And they say, you are notowner right now. I say, Yes, I'm
an owner right now, but kind oflike I can say I'm a sell
employee, because owner is that,for example, if I had three
restaurants, then I will hiremanagers to run the restaurant,

(42:07):
and I'm gonna be the owner. I'mgonna make sure they doing the
right things and everything. Soit's when you become an owner.
So that's why I want to openmore, yeah, more location and
all that. Because I want tobecome a owner. It's nicey, but
like, I say, Yeah, that's theother call, like rock and roll
cafe. Like, I want them. Like,people know about like rock and

(42:31):
roll cafe, like, here in VenturaCounty, LA County, everywhere,

that's awesome, man, you're gonna have a rock
and roll empire. Yeah, that's

the goal. A lot of people say sometimes you need
to, like, be scary about yourgoals. And my goal is like, for
example, to be the like, like,complete with the in and out,
yeah, all the habit. So that'sone of my big goals. And
eventually, one day, maybe wecan be a good, like, best burger

(43:02):
in California, straight

up, man. So, yeah, it's already in Simi Valley,
Moore Park. Like, next isCalifornia, yeah? So

that's, that's the goal. So that's a big goal,
but we're gonna keep workinghard. Yeah, make sure we follow
the being friendly and qualityand everything. And eventually
it's, it will happen.

So, yeah, and so then, like, how do you, how do
you balance, like, work life andpersonal life and stuff like
that. Like, how are you findingthat it's

is hard, it's hard to to to have that is nice
it to when you, when you, like,have a business, you need to
make sure, like, you focus on,on the business. If you really
want to, like, make the businessgrow, so you need to make sure
the business, you start in thebusiness with it like, 100% all

(43:56):
the time. It's hard right nowfor me, like, for example, like
I was married almost two yearsago I divorced. Yeah? So because
it's hard, like, work andpersonal life, yeah? So right
now for me, I think I'm justwanna pretty much stay single,

(44:20):
focus on the business, andthat's it, yeah? So, because
it's hard when you have abusiness, it really is. Man, you
need to focus 100% if you reallywant the business to grow. It
really

is. And it's so common for that to be a point of
of tension, you know, inrelationships,

yeah? Because sometimes people think that, oh,
yeah, I'm gonna open a business,and boom, two years, I'm gonna
be making a lot of money. It'snice. It takes time. Yeah, it
does. It

takes time. It takes it takes a lot of time.
Takes a lot of resources. Like,and even when you're not there,
like, at the location, you know,like, it's still taken out. A
lot of space in your mind, likeyou're still thinking about it.
You know, you're waking up inthe morning thinking about it,
you're going to sleep at nightthinking about it, like with my

(45:09):
wife and I, it's, it's commonfor her, I'll just be quiet, and
then she'll be like, oh, like,Babe, what are you thinking
about? And it's just like, IIt's the answer that I always
give her, you know, but it'swork, you know, it's something
that's going on with with work,or something that's going on

(45:30):
with clients, or something, youknow, with the project that we
have going on, like it's alwaysthere. And I don't think that
it's necessarily self evidentthat that's, that's the case, or
that's the experience thatbusiness owners, you know, are
kind of, like, living through.
Yeah,

it's like, one time I was pretty busy, like,
preparing for, like, the nextcouple days, and I forgot to,
like, to rent, like, somethingthat I need to rent. And I wake
up like, I think it was three inthe morning, and I just remember
I say, Okay, I need to and I itwas three in the morning, I went
into my computer and I do, I dowork, yeah, sometimes it's hard.

(46:12):
You usually do, like,

yeah, yeah. Just got to get it done, man. So
you're taking, you're you'retaking this time then like, to
really focus on the business,really focus on growing rock and
roll cafe, yeah, getting your,getting your additional
locations going, yeah, that's,yeah,

that's the goal.
So I'm excited for that.
Hopefully, like, can say twomore years, and maybe we can
have a second location.

Yeah, that's, that's great, man. I'm looking
forward to being there for theribbon cutting.

Absolutely. Yeah, gonna be one over there, first
one.

I hope so bar open.
I hope so. I'll ride my bicyclethere. There you go. And then,
yeah, yeah, that'll be awesome,man. Well, Victor, I mean,
we'll, we'll have all of yourinformation in the in the
description and everything likethat. But you know, just let
people know that those, thosethat don't anybody watching this
that doesn't know where rock androll Cafe is. Rock

and Roll cafe, it's located at 2196 that was
street right here in SimiValley, California, and we are
open seven days a week, from1030 in the morning to 8pm Yeah.
So if anybody decided to go overthere, I always recommend to try
the Wild West burger. Oh, that'sone of my favorites, the Wild

(47:33):
West burger. That's the mostpopular burger we have. But we
have different like items, likewe got a pineapple burger.
That's really good too. It isthe chicken poblano. There is a
chicken sandwich with poblanochiles, salsa verde on it. That
one is really good. The cheesesteak sandwich is really good.
The rice on your rinse.
Definitely. If anybody wants togo over there,

they can try and you got the salads, like,
sometimes, sometimes I would getthe chicken salad, or, yeah, the
chicken salad and amazingbarbecue chicken salad. Barbecue

chicken salad is the most popular because it has
a barbecue on it with we putsome onion rings chop on top,
yeah. And it's a greatcombination of flavors with the
barbecue sauce and the chicken,and if you add rice to it,

so good, it's really good. It's so good. And
then regular fries, of course,but then I typically get the
sweet potato fries. Yeah, thosethings, those things are always
on the spot.

It's funny, because a lot of people think
when they say, Oh, do you addsalt to the sweet potato fries?
I said, Yes, because when youmix sweet with salty, it's a
great flavor. Because a lot ofpeople think like, oh, well, you
don't put sugar on it. I said,No, you need to add salt with
sweet. Yeah, it's a really greatthat's super

good. I've been to other places. There was a there
was a pub down in Burbank, whenI was living down in Burbank
years ago. And they would dosweet potato fries, but they
would put maple syrup on them,and it was way too sweet. Like,
it was just like, like the firstbite, you're like, Okay, that's
kind of interesting. But then,like, after the third bite here,

(49:18):
no, no. Like, this is way toomuch.

Yeah, and there is a, I've been to another
places they add sugar to it.
It's a no, you need to add salt,yeah? Because when you add salt
or season and salt for it, it'sa great combination, the sweet
with salt.

It's really good.
Yeah, super good.

And then we always recommend the range for
the sweet potato or our rock androll sauce? Yeah, we have our
own rock and roll sauce, so it'sreally good flavor right there
with the sweet potatoes and allthat.

So that's the stuff, man. So anybody rock and
roll cafe, go check out Victor.
Victor. Thank you so much forspending this time with us.

Brian Thank you very much for the opportunity to
to be here. So, of

course, brother, of course. Man, that's it. Thanks,
brother.

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