Goodyear loves its restaurants, and the people and stories behind these eateries are just as amazing as the food! Hear from Isai Martinez on how he went from being laid off during the pandemic to now running Tacos Barbon. Plus, Greg Landon, the owner-operator of the Goodyear Culver's, explains that even national chains can have a local, hometown feel.
Goodyear loves its restaurants, and the people and stories behind these eateries are just as amazing as the food! Hear from Isai Martinez on how he went from being laid off during the pandemic to now running Tacos Barbon. Plus, Greg Landon, the owner-operator of the Goodyear Culver's, explains that even national chains can have a local, hometown feel.
Coming up on this episode of Growing Goodyear
Isai Martinez:Every day we open we're interviewing for somebody to come back and give us their business. So we have to be on our a game and I tell this to our staff all the time, every night, every ticket, we are interviewing for this person to come back.
Open:Welcome to Growing Goodyear, a podcast that provides in depth conversations with the movers and shakers in the ninth fastest growing city in the nation. Now here's the host of Growing Goodyear, Digital Communications Director, Tammy Vo.
Host Tammy Vo:If there's one thing we know Goodyear residents are passionate about their restaurants. Some want local only, the others welcome chain restaurants. It's a debate we see that often plays out on social media. But what most customers may not even think about are the people and stories behind their favorite spots to eat. And what seems like a chain may have more roots in our community than you think. On this episode of Growing Goodyear, we'll meet the owner of Tacos Barbon, who found himself laid off during the pandemic. Find out how selling tacos on the side of the road during a time of desperation led to an incredible opportunity. Then we will talk to the owner and operator of the Culver's in Goodyear. Like many teenagers, his first job was flipping burgers. Now decades later, he and his family are proud owners of their Goodyear restaurant. And while it may be a national chain for the owners, it's part of our community. But bursts it's time for our Fast Five with Tacos Barbon owner Isai Martinez. If you could only have one type of taco for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Isai Martinez:We don't even have this on the menu. It's a
Open:Would you rather watch a movie in a theater or at home? tacos cabeza which is basically it's basically be from like the cheek part of the cow, which is it's like so tender.
Isai Martinez:At home.Definetly at home on the couch.
Host Tammy Vo:Are you a morning person or a night person?
Isai Martinez:Night person. Sure.
Host Tammy Vo:What was your first job?
Isai Martinez:Working at a Hometown Buffet. Beverage, line server, bringing out food.
Host Tammy Vo:Who is your favorite band or musician?
Isai Martinez:I like all kinds of music. So I really like Florida Georgia Line. And in Spanish music I like Mana.
Host Tammy Vo:I think it's safe to say, Isai, that your story is really an incredible one in Goodyear. Not only are you locally owned, but you have gone from basically operating a food truck to having a restaurant in an establishment. What is this journey been like for you in the short time?
Isai Martinez:We started off as sort of a necessity, just because I ended up being out of work during the beginning parts of the pandemic. So that's really what started it was more of a necessity thing just to get us by until I could, you know, find another place of employment. It really just started as like we were full, full go on it from the very beginning. We've had that attitude the whole way through. I mean, just recently we've been able to more or less, you know, kind of relax a little bit and maybe take our foot off the pedal a little bit. But for 18 or however long it's been 20 months, we've been just non stop. All we did for almost two years is work. That's pretty much all we did and and that's translated to where we're we're at now, you know, which is a different challenge. It's different from being in a food truck where you know, your mobile, your in one spot, you kind of put your own parameters. Now we're in a inside of a building. So it's definitely a lot different. A lot more challenges, and but also a lot more opportunities.
Host Tammy Vo:Did you lose your job when COVID started? Like a lot of people?
Isai Martinez:Yeah, yeah.
Host Tammy Vo:So what were you doing at the time?
Isai Martinez:You know, so I was working in my career field, which is architectural drafting.
Host Tammy Vo:And what is that?
Isai Martinez:I worked for a company in Phoenix, doing storefront drawings.
Host Tammy Vo:And then COVID happens and what?
Isai Martinez:All the stores obviously retail shuts down and and we're find ourselves very little work. So I ended up losing my job.
Host Tammy Vo:And then you think what I mean, how do you get from working in the architectural field to Hey, honey, let's go open a food truck?
Isai Martinez:Well, if I back up a little bit to 2019 We were just kind of both just tired of the office life and just kind of didn't really find a lot of joy in what I was doing anymore. So we were kind of loosely looking for other things to do. So, in October of 2019, we bought a cart like a small hotdog cart. And, you know, we figured we'd use it for events and, you know, maybe some caterings, have as a way of bringing in some side business because we love we both love cooking, we love entertaining, but we never thought that it was going to be something that was going to turn into like our livelihood. So then the pandemic starts. And then I find myself jobless, mid May of 2020. So we had this cart in our garage, just sitting there, and I didn't really care for it too much. I was actually thinking about selling it. And then you know, I find myself out of work. Well, what do we do? Well, let's, let's go see if this thing really works and sell tacos and see what happens. I think I got let go on a Wednesday. And then that Saturday, we were out selling food.
Host Tammy Vo:Oh, my goodness, where did you go?
Isai Martinez:Right off the side of the road on Jack Rabbit and the I 10.
Host Tammy Vo:What was that like?
Isai Martinez:To look back? It's a blur. It really is, you know that you need to do something. So you just you're just going for it. To look back now it's, I can't believe we did what we did, but we did it.
Host Tammy Vo:What was going through your mind?
Isai Martinez:The good thing is that we have the ability to do it. And to start it up from scratch. And we have to do something to you know, keep our house and keep, we have kids. So at the time, I can't just go look for another job. Because obviously everybody's struggling and having staffing issues and that type of thing. So while we were doing this the whole time, I'm still sending out resumes and trying to get back into my field.
Host Tammy Vo:Cause you're thinking I'm not sure I can do this forever, right?
Isai Martinez:Because this is temporary. After a few weeks, we're doing really well. But it was just my wife and I, couple of times there are kids out there, which is now looking back, it's kind of tough, because we put them through that. But it's just kind of survival mode. I think that's the best way to put it. We're just in survival mode.
Host Tammy Vo:So how do you move from the basically the cart to the food truck to where now things are probably getting better, right?
Isai Martinez:So about a month in, we realize we can only do so much in a open air cart. We were thinking okay, this is going good. I can see ourselves doing this. So now it's a matter of okay, do we want to take our life savings and gamble? Or what do we want to do? We just had this feeling, let's just go for it, we basically started looking around for a food truck, we found a really good deal for one that we could buy and then had to fix it up a little bit. We knew we needed to get an enclosed trailer, it was just for what we were doing. The cart didn't really fit what we needed. So we knew that if we're going to do this, we needed to have an actual food truck. It took us about another two months to get it operable and passed all the requirements. When we got into the food truck, then things just really kind of exploded. Once we got the food truck, it really, really helped for sure.
Host Tammy Vo:And this is, I'm trying to remember the timeline here. I mean, right in the middle of the height of COVID. Right?
Isai Martinez:Yeah, right at the beginning.
Host Tammy Vo:Do you think about that was harder for you? Or did it make it easier? Because I'm thinking people probably weren't in restaurants so much but they also weren't spending a lot of money, right?
Isai Martinez:It was like that perfect storm, or people weren't going out, everything was closed. We were out in an area where there's not a lot of restaurants. People were tired of cooking at home, they wanted something homemade, something that wasn't just processed fast food. I mean, we were making food from scratch and selling it and and then you know, we decided we're going to put music up, we're going to try to live in it up and make it everybody's kind of having a hard time right now they're stuck at home, you know, let's find a way to just make it more of an experience. Have people not just come pick up food but have a good time and maybe forget about what's going on for a few minutes. We even delivered food during the quarantine to our neighborhood, make food and put it up on Facebook on our community page and we'd get orders we make, you know, prepare the food we'd deliver it and just a way to provide a service to the neighborhood. We just got really creative with everything we could do to bring in some income basically.
Host Tammy Vo:So when do you reach the point to where you feel okay, we maybe don't fit in in the food truck anymore. Our business is getting up there and we need to move on. Is that what happened?
Open:And so now you don't operate the food truck anymore?
Isai Martinez:We were running into some challenges with the food truck, we're outgrowing it, basically. So we started looking for a kitchen to prep. There's only so much we could do in the food truck. So we were looking around for a commercial kitchen, which, interestingly, there is no commercial kitchens out in the west valley. They're all east, east valley, Central Phoenix, driving from Goodyear, Buckeye area all the way to Central Phoenix and then coming back with your food. To me, that doesn't make much sense. So we started looking around calling up different restaurants that maybe would allow us to use their kitchen and that type of thing. That's how we arrived that we're at now at the Holiday Inn, I ran across their ad, they were renting out their kitchen space from 11 to 4pm. Every day, we called there was a lot of restrictions with the hours and we could only be in there so much. There's minimal space to use and that type of thing. But it was a kitchen, it was exactly what we needed. So we filled out a contract, we rented it out. We do. Yeah, we still operate the food truck. I And then we started working out of the kitchen. So we prep our food in the kitchen, we load the food truck, and then we'd go and think we rented the kitchen for six or eight months, there was now we could handle a lot more just volume. And then we could do catering and stuff like that, which was also another part that was starting, we're starting to get a lot of inquiries for like catering and stuff like that. So that's how we ended up there. It's just really at the beginning, just renting the kitchen. just the opportunity to be able to open for dinner there. So we jumped on that. And we took over their dinner part because they they served breakfast, they served dinner. So we took over their dinner part. We run their food trucks still Fridays and Saturdays. And we're open seven days a week far as the restaurant.
Host Tammy Vo:So this for you is a seven day a week operation right now.
Isai Martinez:Yes, it went from an office day, a prep day, three physical working days in the truck to seven days a week. So it's definitely on operation at this point. There's definitely you know, that feeling of okay, this is not just the little food truck, just me and my wife and couple. This is now something a lot, lot bigger.
Host Tammy Vo:You're now serving people who are coming in to sit down and dine from traveling other places. I mean, your customer base has totally changed.
Isai Martinez:A lot of our clientele is still our customers that aren't staying at the hotel. They're still coming in. And it's a different concept. You know, you're walking into a hotel, to grab dinner. So that's definitely something different. But I feel like once people go in, they feel the ambience and then taste the food that they're willing to come back.
Host Tammy Vo:What is it about Tacos Barbon that keeps them coming back?
Isai Martinez:It's just the quality of the food. We do everything from scratch, from the drinks, to the sauces, to the meats to everything. We butcher, our own meats. It's a lot different than you're gonna get it at any other taco shop. Not a lot of taco shops do that. We do ribeye steak tacos. So I mean, something that you don't get anywhere. Customers love our bedia tacos. That's, that's our best seller.
Host Tammy Vo:What's in that?
Isai Martinez:So that's more of a shredded beef. It's a stewed meat that's just been cooked in chilies and spices for a number of hours. It's my wife's recipe and people love it.
Host Tammy Vo:Why Goodyear for your business?
Isai Martinez:There's just not a lot of local restaurants out here. And we just feel it's really important to have that, you know, as a staple in the community. So we really wanted to just find that find a place where we could grow, I think Goodyear is growing, and we could grow with it.
Host Tammy Vo:How would you say it's going right now?
Isai Martinez:It's going well, definitely challenges as far as a lot more to running a restaurant, and then maybe there is food truck. But overall, you know, it's going good. We love what we do. Which is really good. You know, it's always nice to do something that you like to do.
Host Tammy Vo:I sense this is so much more than a job for you. For you and your wife.
Isai Martinez:Yes, it's one thing to go work for somebody, come home, I have a paycheck, which I did that for 20 years. But when you own something and it's yours and you do your livelihood, and you really just give it 100% every time. Not that you don't when you work for paycheck, I think you always should, but it's just it's just hits a little different when you know that's yours. If you fail or you succeed, it's going to affect not only you but everybody in your household.
Host Tammy Vo:When I hear your story in the last couple of years. It really feels a bit like a roller coaster. At times you talk about losing your job, a reaction from some people might be to be upset, which would be natural, but to maybe wait for something else to come to them. But you didn't do that, you know, a couple days after that you're out there on the streets selling food, what really inspired you to go that direction rather than staying home and feeling sorry for yourself?
Isai Martinez:I'm just not about that. I've never had that mentality. You can't control what happens to you. But you can control what you do. After that you do what you can what you have, and you work. That's not me to just sit at home, and oh, well, I'm unemployed. And we'll see what happens. It's just not something that I agree with. And we look back at the last almost two years now. And we don't know how we did, we don't know how we've done it is just by the grace of God. That's the only way I can describe it as just opportunities come and you're either gonna take them or you're not, you're gonna go for it or not. We control our own destiny.
Host Tammy Vo:How old are your children?
Isai Martinez:17. And soon to be 14,
Host Tammy Vo:What do you want them to take from this experience, how their parents made it through, but could have been a really, really tragic time.
Isai Martinez:They witnessed it firsthand. And they were there, I just want them to take away that. You know, we're not victims to anything, anything can happen at any time. And you have to really willing, willing to learn to work hard for what you want. And anything is possible. If you just work hard at it, commit yourself to whatever you're doing. Have a restaurant inside of a hotel, which is crazy that we had that opportunity and that we have that opportunity.
Host Tammy Vo:Three years ago, you were drawing architectural drawings for businesses, and now you're the owner of a restaurant inside of a hotel. Did you ever imagine this is where you would be today?
Isai Martinez:No, no. We always wanted to do something like this, but we never thought it was really going to happen. We were like I said, we were had both had jobs, we had good income, we had good careers, pretty comfortable. So we would have never left that to do something like this.
Host Tammy Vo:You're now a small business owner. That was just totally different from your past life, which is you know, you get a paycheck from someone. There's a lot more competence you have in that is there certain challenges that come with being a small business owner now that you must deal with in exchange for kind of you know, what you had before?
Isai Martinez:Yeah, I mean, you're not relying on a paycheck to come every week. I can only speak for myself, but you never really feel 100% secure. Every day we open we're interviewing for somebody to come back and give us their business. So we have to be on our A game and I tell this to our staff all the time. Every night, every ticket, we are interviewing for this person to come back. They can go anywhere else. So I really take that to heart.
Host Tammy Vo:Tell me again, where your truck is, what time and where your restaurant is and what hours are you open for those that want to come and try?
Isai Martinez:Our food truck is in Buckeye, on Fridays, and Saturdays off of Verrado and McDowell, Fridays six to 10 Saturdays five to nine. And then our restaurant is Goodyear off Dysart and the I 10 Inside the Holiday Inn, and we're open there daily at 4pm.
Host Tammy Vo:Isai, thank you so much for your time and I loved hearing your story.
Isai Martinez:Thank you so much. Thanks for having us.
Host Tammy Vo:While many people are familiar with the concept of a chain restaurant, it might surprise you that there is a local connection. That is the case with the Culvers restaurant in Goodyear. Owner operator Greg Landon has made it his mission to serve the Goodyear community with quality food and hometown hospitality. And to top it off the Goodyear Culvers is a huge contributor to local charities and organizations since they opened their doors. Let's learn more about how this national chain is making a difference right here in Goodyear. We're chatting with Greg Landon the owner operator of the Goodyear Cluvers a wildly popular place. Greg, thanks so much for joining us today.
Greg Landon:You're welcome.
Host Tammy Vo:Tell me how did you get into the restaurant business and what drew you to becoming an owner of Culvers here in Goodyear?
Greg Landon:I started in restaurant business like most young people when they were 16 and worked for a small mom and pa franchisee and it turned out that they would eventually become a Hardee's but I went to college and ultimately the draft is on and ended up in the Navy and I had to make money because I didn't get paid as much. So I had to work at McDonald's while I also was standing duty on the ship and not out at sea. So I had a hamburger love in my body for a long time. And they made me an offer to work in Florida, for McDonald's and operator, but I decided to come back home work for that high school family that taught me the ropes. And eventually I did end up at McDonald's in Milwaukee. And when I started with them, they owned eight McDonald's and when I left they owned 24. So that gave me the passion and the drive and I worked my way up from assistant manager to GM to multi unit supervisor.
Host Tammy Vo:What was your first job at McDonald's?
Greg Landon:I was a short order cook. I worked the grill.
Host Tammy Vo:And you were how old back then?
Greg Landon:In the Navy, I was 20. When I started with Burger Chef, which became Hardee's, I was 16.
Host Tammy Vo:When you look back to how far you've come over the years, does it surprise you?
Greg Landon:It does. Other people I worked for were highly successful and to even step into their shoes and take the risks that you had to take. And I had no money. I basically saved everything ahead and I inherited nothing. I had nothing.
Host Tammy Vo:So what brought you to Goodyear? Why Goodyear?
Greg Landon:First of all, I'm a passionate baseball nut. One spring training. I tried to make three games in one day. I watched the stadium being built in Goodyear, the infrastructure. When I drove around Phoenix, I looked at Scottsdale, I looked at different places. And I saw Mesa and how built out it was. Goodyear seemed to me to be the next Scottsdale in my mind, especially with the roads and the way they were laid out and the amount of land that was available. So that's what attracted me.
Host Tammy Vo:How has it been since your opening?
Greg Landon:Wow, I can't say enough about the community of Goodyear. We've lived in Estrella foothills since 2010. We kind of went out on a limb before we built our first restaurant in Avondale. Our first restaurant in Arizona, bought the house first and usually you do it the other way you build the restaurant then buy a house. So my first restaurant in Avondale was a build to suit. And I had to find partners that not only owned the land but also were willing to build the building. But we were so successful in Avondale that I bought all those partners out in 11 months.
Host Tammy Vo:And when it comes to your location and Goodyear, this isn't a small place. I mean, you you're about 2000 square feet larger than your typical Culvers. In fact, the largest Culvers west of the Mississippi. And you're right here in Goodyear, how did it get to be this size?
Greg Landon:I worked for different people. And they showed me that you can expand but with materials and land cost the way it is you better have a piece of land, and you better put up a building. And then it's easier to plan ahead for future growth. And that's what I did with Goodyear, there's a 1100 square foot office in the back of the building that has three offices and conference room in it. There's a 40 seat, glass meeting room in the front of the building. So knowing that Culvers was eventually going to go to double lane drive throughs and outside shoulder pads in the future. And knowing the growth of Goodyear, I felt that it was a good investment to put in a large building. Because believe it or not people want to walk in and have a booth. Yeah, drive thru is the growth of the future. But in reality, this is a family business and Culvers positions itself so well with families. If you can bring your families and your relatives in and feel comfortable with 20 people walking into a restaurant and get seated right away. That's what I wanted you to have.
Host Tammy Vo:So not only a dining experience, but also I know when you walk through the front, there's a large stone plaque out front. That's very special. I think, from what I understand to you. Tell me about that. Why what's what's all about?
Greg Landon:Well, I certainly study the background of Mayor Lord and her husband and his fighter pilot background and in the parades as you know, we built the other two stores Buckeye and Avondale ahead of time, because I was looking for the perfect spot in Goodyear. But during that time, I was in several parades in Goodyear with my Culvers truck, which is now retired. But Mayor Lord was there. And I talked to her at several different functions. And I just got the feeling of community with the military and I was in the Navy. And I just feel that a lot of military people are just under appreciated when they come home. And so I felt by putting that monument up front to salute the people that serve our country and have served our country. I think it's more more significant now with the conflict that we have in Ukraine and all of this tragedy that's happening over there how important our military is.
Host Tammy Vo:When you have veterans or active service members who who walk in and see that what is their reaction?
Greg Landon:They thank me and the team sincerely for the effort of recognizing them. But more importantly, they don't see it up and down the street. So they know that it's identifiable with Culvers. And I hope that they take a picture and I think, I just hope they have a moment at Culvers that said, Thank God, we have democracy and freedom in our country.
Host Tammy Vo:And I know community is important to you. You support, for example, Future Farmers of America, you're connected with a lot of the schools. Why is that important to you? Why is it is it so much more for you than just business?
Greg Landon:Again, I think they're undervalued in terms of what they provide to us every day and nutrition and, and wholesome foods and Culvers is a huge component of FFA. We sponsor a national convention in Indianapolis every year. We have local chapters that we support, we send cash donations every month, collected through canisters as well as 10% days. You know, education, and FFA are all related. FFA does more than just a farming situations, they get into a lot of social recognitions with families, and how they help families. So there's nothing more important than to educate yourself and achieve happiness in your own life because of how you've conducted your life and learning things. And hopefully at Culvers we can teach you things as well.
Host Tammy Vo:You mentioned it's a family business. Tell me, besides yourself, who else in your family works at the restaurant?
Greg Landon:Well, my wife has been my partner for 36 years, 25 years in Culvers. And she pays all the bills, handles five payrolls. My daughter, Jackie Landon is been with me since she was 16. She went to Stout University in Wisconsin got a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management. And I have put her through the wringer. I put her through situations that most most parents wouldn't put their kids through. My other daughter who graduated from the University of Arizona with a master's degree is now going through franchise class in Wisconsin, to become my operating partner in Mukwonago, Wisconsin.
Host Tammy Vo:So it really is a family business.
Greg Landon:It is.
Host Tammy Vo:How many restaurants do you own?
Greg Landon:I currently own five, but I sold the operating company of one because it was in Illinois. And I would like to build more in the West Valley. The difficulty is is the property cost, the material costs right at the moment?
Host Tammy Vo:When you say West Valley, why the West Valley? What's happening in the West Valley right now that draws your interest?
Greg Landon:Well, the California imploding into Arizona is significant. And I think that the the municipalities both in Buckeye, Goodyear, Avondale, I've worked with a lot of the a lot of your staff and a lot of the people that are involved in your communities. And I'm telling you, you're well represented. I think you want retail, I think you make it very productive for an owner to be involved.
Host Tammy Vo:Our late mayor, Georgia, Lord, I understand she had a bit of an impact on your decision to open in Goodyear. Why is that?
Greg Landon:I felt the Mayor Lord had always encouraged me to work through the economical development committee, and really kept that committee up to date on what my needs were through different social meetings. I'd say I want this piece of property, I want this, I want that or I want this accessibility or want this or that. And they just listened. And when an opportunity came along, it became a one on one relationship with a property owner that developed into something that I had to work at. I said, I'll build the ring road. You'll reimburse me, actually work with the architect to do so. So getting accessibility to the site being the first ones there was something that the city had to work with me on. They did a great job doing that.
Host Tammy Vo:If there's one thing I can tell you that Goodyear residents are very passionate about it is their restaurants, they love to go out and eat and we often hear people talk about local versus franchise, local versus franchise and I think people think they're two separate groups. And the franchise is someone in a suit on the other side of the country, in it for just some profitability and it has no connection to to the local restaurant. When we talk to you and your family owned local franchise owner. What would you say to that? That sort of misconception out there?
Greg Landon:you don't get a Culvers unless you have that recognition of development and education. And that person. Culvers grows by mentees under majority owners, meaning that general manager will be mentored by a majority owner. And if this majority owner feels that this person could run a restaurant and own a restaurant, they have to sponsor him through 17 weeks of training. And they have to jump through hoops. You can't even imagine how much electronic and educational process they have to go through the own one. So I just feel that Culvers is a different model than a lot of other restaurants. There's some great operators out there in many different franchises. And it's all a passion that they must have, if they don't have the passion get out of the business.
Host Tammy Vo:When you look back to when you were 16 flipping burgers for the first time to now, years later, as as an owner of multiple Culvers restaurant is there anything that you took from back then as a kid flipping burgers that you think has carried you through to now owning the business that you own today?
Greg Landon:You got to think like a customer. And you've got to have empathy for every employee that works for you in terms of understanding what they're going through, I always say a couple of things, energy sells, and smiles sell. So you've got to have happy people. And you've got to grow them in a development plan to make them feel part of your family. So that's a challenge in today's world with all the significant things that are happening. But if they read energy and happiness and hospitality from their leaders, it's generally pretty much an example setting moment for them. Kids relate to parents first, teachers second and their boss the third. Well, if I can be one of the best bosses around, hopefully I can make a connection where maybe one of the other parts fell off.
Host Tammy Vo:talking to you.
Greg Landon:Thank you very much.
Host Tammy Vo:As you have just heard, there is so much more to a restaurant than just the food and service. The people and stories behind these dining rooms or drive throughs are helping to contribute to what makes Goodyear so special. So the next time you drive by let's say a taco shop located in a hotel, or maybe a chain restaurant that you thought was owned by some corporation far away. Take a second to think about who might actually be serving you. Who knows, they could even be living right next door to you. Until next time, I'm Tammy Vo and remember, it's a great time to be in Goodyear.
Close:That concludes this episode of Growing Goodyear. Make sure to leave us a review and subscribe on your favorite streaming or podcast player app. If you have any questions or comments, email us at communications at Goodyear az.gov And don't forget to follow us on the city of good years social media pages