“let people underestimate me”

“I let people underestimate me, it gives me an advantage every time.“ Christina Gonzalez-Valentin is the force behind Los Comales restaurants. We captured some creative portraits at their Little Village location for her new position at the Illinois Restaurant Association Advisory Board. Christina is the literal face of the restaurant brand as when her father opened the first restaurant a drawing of her as a little girl was the logo and today she continues the tradition by working hard to serve her customers, staff, and community. Christina greets her staff in Spanish as they arrive for the day and shows me the historical photographs that hang in the dinning rooms of Mexico. It is clear she is proud of the work they do and the sense of family they have built at their restaurants, “my culture and background and being the first generation born here is important to me.” Her father “founded his American Dream and it is my goal to give back and on this board I want to be someone at the table with larger corporations that they have to speak to because they want to develop in our community. I will make sure they know they’ll have to invest in the children of that community’s future.”

Several colleagues nominated her to serve in the restaurant community because she is known for being a voice from their community of Little Village in Chicago. She intends to bring that voice from within the community to her position. “I will use my voice, background and upbringing to bring to light challenges we face in our community that other neighborhoods do not deal with. I will work towards making our community heard, stronger, and even more vibrant. “

Female leadership that is skilled, bold, and resilient AND can we discuss the tacos? Get some now!

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