“Partnerships are like marriages, you have to choose your partner very well”: My Taste Is

20 years ago, after the nostalgia of remembering the seafood carts of Sinaloa, Humberto Herrara, originally from Mazatlán, and Edgardo Estrada, from Sonora, decided to open a small local in the Narvarte neighborhood, to bring a little piece of his homeland to Mexico City.

No experience in the restaurant sector, so Humberto is an aviator pilot and Edgardo is a systems engineer, they started the business with just six chairs. Today, 20 years later, they already have 15 branches throughout the Mexican Republic such as Cuernavaca, Mérida, Pachuca, Puebla, Toluca and Mexico City and other restaurants: Culichioso, Tebori and the Dulce Rojo pastry shop located in Metepec.

The road has not been easy, because not having experience in restaurants, starting a business with friends and family —because their wives are part of the business— and facing the pandemic has brought ups and downs, but the key has been in the confidence and knowing the businesssince each member of the business knows the ins and outs of the company.

When they started the business, they shared out on weekends, to have the opportunity to continue taking care of their children and their commitments. This allowed them to hold different positions in the company, from peeling shrimp, cooking, distributing the products in the different branches and be a waiter

Partnerships are like marriages, you have to choose your partner very well. The strength is that we respect each other a lot, I am not telling you that everything has been rosy, of course we have had differences, as if it were a marriage, but the well-being of the business has always prevailed,” Humberto commented in an interview.

He specified that when there is a problem, they meet to discuss what would be the best solution and they do not reach an agreement, they go to an expert, so that they have the best solution for the business.

How did they face the pandemic?

The pandemic also impacted the businesses of entrepreneurs, due to the temporary closure and low sales, which they were only 10 percent. The group had to close three branches; two from Mi Gusto Es and one from Culichioso, the Riders branch in Tlalnepantla that had opened in 2020.

This year the branch of Mi Gusto Es de Santa Fe was reopened, which also had to close because, being an office area, the number of diners decreased considerably during the pandemic.

This new branch is the beginning of a new era, the evolution of our concept and guide of the new branches to the future. It shows that working with a focus on the client, with respect for our flavor and with the best collaborators is the right path”, comments Edgardo.

To avoid the pandemic, businessmen maintained arrangements of up to 80% with suppliers and landlordswhich allowed them to continue with the branches.

“The most important thing is our people, landlords second, suppliers third, and the rest fourth,” which is why the company did not cut staff during the pandemic, they only did not renew temporary contracts, but the staff remained.

In addition, to cope and continue earning income, they joined the delivery platforms, but they still work so that the taste is the same in home delivery, because often the delivery time takes time and the food can arrive cold, which comes out of their hands.

“We were not very similar, but you do not have to get old in your thinking, we are concerned about giving people what they want, and now they want delivery. The question is that the product continues to preserve its quality”, highlighted Humberto.

20 years of challenges and growth

Mi Gusto Es receives its name thanks to the famous song, characteristic of Sinaloa. The company has gone from 25 to 1,500 clients a day, in its 15 branches. Just between 2021 and 2022, they went from 480,000 to just over 540,000 diners per year; And this year during the Lenten period, they received more than 17,000 people in their different locations.

As the business grew, its own identity was created that has not stopped evolving, and its operation has been professionalized, from the implementation of a distribution center in Metepec that dispatches more than 330 tons of food per year, to the MGE Training Center , which trains its employees in all service areas.

“My Taste Is, a place made by friends to have a good time and eat delicious; we are obsessive with the taste experience and we are always looking for new dishes that go with our very own style; We always incorporate new ideas, we give our own style to classic recipes, we want our visitors to always find something that is not in any other restaurant” comments Humberto Herrera, co-founder and director of operations of the restaurant group.

The company has more than 500 collaborators and 25% of the workforce is originally from the municipality of Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, a marginalized area located in the highlands of the state, and which, in addition to employment, obtains training and support for their personal and professional growth. .