Founder of Colorado restaurant chain Santiago's shares secrets to her success (but not her green chile recipe)
Chances are if you've spent much time on Colorado's Front Range you've had a half-n-half breakfast (half spicy, half mild) burrito at Santiago's. It was the idea of owner Carmen Morales to bring her favorite food growing up to her customers, and she has seen tremendous success in Colorado.
Morales opened her first Santiago's in 1991 in her hometown of Brighton. It's now just one of 30 Santiago's restaurants in the state -- from Sterling to Castle Rock.
"I would run into a lot of family and friends that did not have a job," Morales said. "And since I believe I'm a motivator I said 'They'll work for me,' so I opened up the restaurant to put everybody to work."
Working full time for the state at the time and raising three daughters, Morales put her faith into her new business, even naming it after Saint James.
"I'm not egotistical so I don't want my name on that you know, so I thought 'But I need all the help I can get,'" Morales said. "When you start a new business you never know so I named it after a saint."
It's her mother's green chile recipe that she would make for her father three times a day that's become so popular with customers. But she's keeping it a secret.
"Yeah, I can't give it out because you know the saying then I'd have to kill you," she said.
She did share that fresh ingredients are key to any of her food, something she's appreciated since she was a kid.
"I was a little bit spoiled ... so I hated leftover food and I would complain and moan and groan that it tasted like everything in the refrigerator," Morales said. "So when I opened up the restaurant I said everything has to be fresh every day."
And her formula has been a success.
"Success is anything that you accomplish that you set out to do and you succeeded, that's what counts," Morales said. "Whether how small or how big, that's success and you don't give up."
It's a sentiment she's shared with her family and employees, including giving back. She helped five of her original workers get a loan to have their own Santiago's restaurant.
"I told them I'm going to help you have a Santiago's but you have to help me so the day that I retire so I don't have to live off of social security," Morales laughed. "Since I have the means I said why not share it and I see it as a blessing in the end."
Morales continues to support the causes very close to her. Just this year, she raised more than $400,000 for the Anchor Center for Blind Children.
