By Andy Sevilla
The hot fire pit bellows out for miles the intoxicating smell of grilled chicken, the freshly cooked beans and rice ready to be devoured with tortillas, but not without first sprinkling a little hand-made tomatillo salsa all over your meal. That is how a small business owner described the best-selling plate at her food truck just east of Kyle.
Elizabeth Martinez, who hails from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, opened up Los Pollos Mas Ricos six months ago in a modest little blue shack on Bebee Road, just east of Goforth Road in Kyle’s extra-territorial jurisdiction.
She said the community’s reception has been warm, traffic is steady and that, all-in-all, business is good.
“It goes well here,” Martinez said. “There are days that are really good, and there are days, like with any business, that it slows down. But we’re doing really well, thank God. We can’t complain.”
Martinez previously owned a similar joint in Austin. She and her husband started their food business under a small roof with few tables, she said while she took a break from preparing for the evening rush. At first, her customer base was small, but gradually it grew to a thriving success, she said.
That venture, however, lasted only seven years, ending in 2009. In the years thereafter she was a homemaker, while her husband worked construction.
After her approximately four-year hiatus from the food industry, Martinez is back in the kitchen filling the bellies of new and repeat customers wanting to taste a little bit of Mexico, but now in Kyle.
The specialty here is a whole chicken with sides of rice and beans, tortillas, grilled onion, homemade salsa and a little lemon, she said. “That’s our strong point, but we also have a great steak plate and sausage wraps.”
“You have to come try our food,” Martinez said with a prideful smile. “We guarantee it is one of the best grilled chickens you will ever try. In Austin, we had a huge clientele and many compared us to the best restaurants that served our style of chicken, but I guarantee mine is better.”
Aside from the pride of serving good food, Martinez said she opened her business once again because the food industry yields a good profit. She said it’s difficult for her and her husband to work for other people, because often the wages earned are very low and not enough to support the family. Having your own business offers more earnings and resource to raise your kids, she said.
“I think that like with any business trying to open its doors, it’s a little difficult in the beginning. You have many costs and have to go through permitting and all of that. But, through God’s grace, we were able to open our doors. And here we are, working hard.”
And that hard work is what brought her from Mexico 16 years ago and has allowed her to realize her own business.
“Like every other Mexican immigrant says, I came to the United States in hopes to live a dream. But in reality, to get there, it’s a huge sacrifice,” Martinez said. “You have to work very hard to achieve what you want. You have to work very hard and you go through many situations that seem to set you back, but if you remain poised, diligent and persevere you can achieve your dream.”
“I can’t tell you that I have everything I would ever want, but, thank God, my kids have never needed anything, and that’s what’s important.”
