Los Montes Restaurant
Cayetana Montes
Opening a Mexican Restaurant has been Cayetana Montes’ dream for as long as she can remember. She owned her own successful, money making cleaning business and contracted with hotels in Park City, Utah; but that business didn’t quench her thirst to own her own restaurant. A local bank sent her to see Ken Fakler at the SBDC at UVU after she approached them to procure a loan to start the restaurant. That was in November, 2009. They wanted her to formalize her business model with a business plan. Ken helped her with all the details of the business plan, but she needed a location, in Kamas, Utah - her home town.
After a year and a half search, a suitable location became available; and after reading her business plan, the landlord indicated that they would help her finance the restaurant. She invested $15,000 (her savings) and the landlord loaned her $15,000; and Los Montes Restaurant opened with the help of her family on July 4, 2011 as an LLC. She had overcome the startup challenges of raising money, finding employees, buying assets at the right price, and marketing to customers. When asked what the secret to her success, Cayetana reports, “Putting in many long hard hours (she works seven days a week), good food recipes, and superior customer service.” The rewards of Cayetana being an entrepreneur and owning her own business, is that she is her own boss, she loves to please her customers, and the business creates a bonding experience between her and her family (her entire family works the business). Part of her marketing success is her involvement in community by donating gift certificates to the South Summit High School, the local fire department, and to the local rodeo events.
Cayetana is grateful to the Orem SBDC for their direction in helping her write the business plan to get her loan, helping her interpret the commercial lease on the building, helping her create a marketing plan, and helping her with all the details of starting and running the business, even though there were set backs along the way. “The Orem SBDC is a big part of the success of this business; we couldn’t have done it without them.”
Cayetana is now living her dream of owning and running a profitable Mexican restaurant with her family in Kamas, Utah.