Meet Tomas Villarreal | Owner of Mingo’s Latin Kitchen

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tomas Villarreal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tomas, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
When I decided to start Mingo’s Latin Kitchen, I was in the process of changing my career path from banking/lending to a kitchen role. Financially it was a risk to save money and also borrow money to purchase my food truck. Career wise I never thought that I would fail but I did always have a Plan B, if the food truck business did not work out then I could always go back to banking/lending due to my over 10 years of experience.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was in the banking and lending industry for over 10 years, and I always had a passion for cooking. After enrolling and graduating Culinary Arts school my chef instructor informed that it would be a good idea to work part time in a kitchen before pursuing a career full time. After working part time at different kitchens, I decided to make a career change. At times it was difficult to find full time work as a sous chef due to my lack of experience in the eyes of employers. I decided to instead start a food truck since it was a lower risk than opening a restaurant. At times it was difficult to work full time in the banking world then weekends at the restaurant. At times I would be working 2 months straight. When I finally started the truck business it was slow and tough, at times I thought about quitting but kept a positive attitude. I am proud to say that Mingo’s Latin Kitchen has two food trucks and a brick in mortar in 2022. My family were really there for me pushing me and motivating me to keep moving forward.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If I had out of town visitors for food, I would take them to KAA Sushi, their sushi rolls are fresh, and they have some unique rolls. On nice days or nights, I like to visit the Creeks (Cedar and Canyon) for some good eats and awesome drinks. The Country Ass Teas are really good! My favorite to die for food is Sao Lao Thai Cafe, I can eat the Chicken Basil Rice every day. If you go, make sure you get the Lao Sausage with sticky rice. For BBQ I love the Pit Room the sides are to die for, and you can’t go wrong with their brisket and sausage links. USA Seafood off FM 529 close to Cypress has awesome crawfish. Burger Joint and Waffle Bus are some of my food truck favorites that have opened up brick and mortar and their food is bomb. For drinks I definitely recommend Rabbits Got The Gun, the Palomas Ian makes are the best in town in my opinion. If I am in the Northwest side of town, I go to Barcelona it has some old school music with food and good drinks. For light bites, great vibes, area I find myself frequenting Be More Pacific. To watch Sporting Events and drinks I would recommend Pitch 25, East End Backyard, and Kirby Ice House.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to shut out my family-my brothers Vic and Daniel and my mother Maria Ester. My mother gave me some good tips whenever I was experimenting on the dishes for the menu. My brother Daniel used his talents to come up with the logo, color scheme, and branding of Mingo’s Latin Kitchen. My friends have always been supportive and have shot me straight good or bad on how the businesses can improve.

Website: www.mingoslatinkitchen.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mingolatinkitchen

Twitter: www.twitter.com/mingoslatinhou

Facebook: www.facebook.com/mingoslatinkitchen