Hello listeners, here we are with another episode and this time we had a conversation with Fernando Lopez!
Fernando, is a restaurateur and entrepreneur. Alongside his three siblings, he owns LA’s iconic Guelaguetza restaurant and in 2014 branded and launched the delicious michelada mix, I Love Micheladas. The mix is available online and in over 150 retailers throughout the US and has been covered nationally by Vice, Los Angeles Magazine, GQ, Urban Daddy, and the LA Times.
Fernando was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, and migrated to the US with his family in 1994. His family opened Guelaguetza restaurant and by the age of 12, Fernando was doing produce purchasing every week, and eventually worked most of the positions within the restaurant. Fernando graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a focus in Business Management, Economics, and Marketing in 2009.
In 2014 Fernando was chosen as one of Zagat's 30 under 30 in Los Angeles. Fernando also sits on the Regional Leadership Board for KPCC, the NPR station with the most growth in the Latino market nationwide, where he’s been serving for 2 years now and helping guide and shape the future of the station and the region. He was asked to sit on the board because of his commitment to, and vision of, Los Angeles and his community.
Listeners, this episode has been waiting to be released for over 3 months! The original interview got accidentally deleted, and this time we recorded for 4 hours! Finally, here is our conversation with Fernando. We talked about how his family migrated from Oaxaca, how the Lopez kids took over the restaurant and improved the operations to make it what it is today, and how the I Love Micheladas brand began.
Also, this is a different format because I had to essentially break the 4-hour interview into less than half of the time. Let me know what you think!
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Find Fernando on all things social @ILoveMicheladas
Stay Shining!
@cafeconpampodcast