What was your first job?It was working with my Auntie Theresa and Godmother Auntie Rachel at my aunt’s landscaping business. It was a summer job. I was 12. I used to love to answer the phones and take orders as well as keep everything organized.How did you get started in this business?I come from a large family, so cooking for an obscene number of people has never been terribly intimidating. Why did you choose this business?I have always loved to cook and bake. I never dreamed that I would have a downtown location. This is a dream come true.What is your business philosophy?Affordable, nutritious, edible art.What is your educational background?I have an associate’s in Business Management.What is your or your company’s greatest asset?My employees; they are working hard daily to promote my dream.Why did you choose to do business in Albuquerque?I love Albuquerque. Albuquerque is home. We travel with our food truck, but I love my business location in the heart of the city. What motivates you to succeed besides the desire to make money?I want to succeed to show my family that I can make it. My son looks up to my a lot and I just want to make him proud.How is operating your own business different than you expected?It doesn’t stop. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it somehow does. What significant changes have you implemented recently?We are always expanding our menu. Our newest item is the Fajita plate. It has been super popular this week.What successes in the past year are you most proud of accomplishing?I can’t wait until we start to jar our salsa, but I am happy to have a large space with local art in the heart of downtown. We are growing and always looking for new ways to help the community at large.What do you offer that the competition doesn’t?Fresh items, healthy portions and great pricing.How do you maintain your competitive edge?We are always experimenting in the kitchen.How would you define your position within the marketplace or within your market segment?I feel that we have a good place. We started as a food truck so we still have different events with our truck, plus we offer catering.What do you think is the biggest obstacle in operating a successful business?Myself. I feel like I am always second guessing myself, but it is hard to have the “right” answer. It gets expensive having to experiment with new hours.What was your biggest missed opportunity?Offering free delivery to surrounding businesses sooner.What are your growth goals?I would love to move to an event center.What is your company’s greatest challenge?Right now our biggest challenge is exposure. We have a great location downtown Albuquerque, but no one knows that we are there or open. We tried expanding our hours to Saturday, but business has been terrible. I hope the change in seasons will bring a new clientele to the restaurant. What contributions to the community (charitable or otherwise) are you most proud of?We have done 4 Free burrito days where we offered free basic burritos in exchange for donations for the less fortunate community in Albuquerque. We feed lots of people from catering left overs to food truck extras.How has the Internet affected your business and how do you think it might affect your business in the future?The food truck was stolen last May and within a few hours the story of our missing truck went viral. The truck was found a few days later by APD. It was a crazy week! What words of wisdom would you offer to someone starting their own business? Breathe.
This Is Albuquerque: Conchitas Creations
Alibi
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4 min read
