Meet Carlos I Barriga

We recently connected with Carlos I Barriga and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Carlos I with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

I believe coming from a different country and different culture, it gives a different life prespective coming to The United States. Responsability and great attitude opens a lot of doors but more importantly my work ethic comes from family roots.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Providing authentic Mexican food in Philadelphia area & more importantly seeing customers smiling and enjoying the taste of real Mexican food gives me peace of mind. My name is Carlos Barriga, I’m from Mexican City and came to the US when I was 14 years old. I graduated High School and got soccer scholarship in Delaware State. My parents started a small restaurant in Upper Darby while I was in College, my parents lost a lot of money trying to operate a 2nd location & when I noticed my parents were struggling with schedules and money thats when I decided to drop out of college and help my parents at the age of 18 years old. At that age I worked close to 80 hrs a week with no days off, regardless, I can’t describe the love and passion it woke up in me serving customers. We ended up selling the business and started doing something else. 5 years after my brother in law, Pedro Campos saw a for lease building with a restaurant opportunity sign and our journey started from there.
All West Philly were losing their minds knowing that a new Mexican Restaurant was going to be opening soon! from that moment We knew it was our ERA, 3-4 months went by and COVID-19 hit, all restaurants closed down and we stayed open, I know Covid-19 was a tragedy but it was the worst/greatest thing that happened to us. the whole neighboorhood recognized us for staying open, since then, Don Barriga Mexican Grill speaks for itself.
5 years later, We open a 2nd location then couple months later We were able to open a Pizza/Mexican food location as well.

My professional focus is get our brand out there, franchise it country wise & have customers what real Mexican food tastes like. We are not a High end restaurantee, We are all fresh homemade family owned business.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

I believe my three qualities are: compromise, respect & responsability. Being honest, creating trust with others and managing are my skills. My advice to early folks is to create a great business plan & be tolerant, patience is key to success.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

Being really tough on me on having responsibilities, on having nothing & to obtain it, I must work hard for it, in my early years, I personally thought that they hated me for some reason but never realized it was for my own good until now that I am a parent. That is the most impactful thing my parents did for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://DonBarriga.com
• Instagram: /Barriga.Don
• Facebook: Don Barriga Mexican grill
• Other: @DonBarrigaofficial