It was 1971 when Armando Tafur Kunza, a 17-year-old boy who did not speak Spanish well and completed only five elementary school classes, arrived in Lima (Peru) from his city of Chacas del Callejon de Conchukos, hoping to get settled to work.
It so happened that one day, walking along one of the most fashionable areas of the city, Miraflores, he saw a sign with the inscription: "Workers are required." He did not hesitate to go in and get a job - washing dishes. He was in charge of pots, plates, cutlery, and besides this he had to do the cleaning. But his dream was the work of a waiter.
Waiter Experience
It would have remained a dream if one day Amando did not make a new friend, a driver who was an employee of the restaurant El Rincón Gaucho, located on the street Malecon de la Reserva, and told him that he wants to get a waiter. Luck smiled at him, and after a week he not only taught the desired work, he also learned the secrets of cooking stewed red meat.
His desire to get new ones turned into passion, it was precisely this that prompted him to change his job and go to the restaurant Manolo, where he studied cooking snacks. After that, he went to work at La Carreta in San Isidro, a restaurant that specialized in meat dishes and grills. There he was able to win the sympathy of the owner, identifying the types of meat that were presented on the table.
Striving for new knowledge and constantly improving, Armando decided to start saving money to open his own business, using all the information and advice that he received while working as a waiter.
In addition, he was also very experienced in his strategy of attracting customers, because, as a waiter, he kept visiting cards of visitors with whom he worked and with whom he established good relations; therefore, with these business cards, he created his first database.
Thanks to work at La Carreta Amando, he was able to learn and deeply study how the bar, kitchen, warehouse, living room function, how high-quality products are delivered.
Big Jump: Hornero
And after 28 years of working in restaurants, this tenacious provincial decided that it was time to take a new big step: from an employee for a salary to an entrepreneur. At the end of 2000, his dream came true, from he opened his first institution in El Hornero, on the Malecon Grau de Chorrillos. The work was very hard and there were enough difficulties. Years later, he opened another establishment in San Isidro, and then in La Molina.
El Hornero is not his first independent business, because before that he opened a chicken shop run by his wife, whom he met when she worked around the house. Today, its five restaurants employ more than 350 people (in Chorrillos, San Isidro, Pachacamaca, La Molina and Asia).
The secret of his success
For Armando, the secret to his success is how he serves customers. He receives his visitors at the very door. To this he adds his main principle: you need to invest in yourself, your soul and heart, and think only positively.
Undoubtedly, this is Armando's long journey to success, and in spite of everything, he was able to reach the pinnacle in the gastronomic business, becoming an example for many beginning entrepreneurs.