We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Antonio Arocho. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Antonio below.
Antonio, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I always have to start with my Grandma. She raised me and her children while working to support us in our small home in Puerto Rico. Watching her and learning from her, I had no choice but to work hard. Working hard was our way of life. I learned from my aunt, Titi Blanca, and uncle, Tio Pipo, who joined the military and were a driving force in my childhood. I learned very quickly, and with their guidance, that you would get no where if you didn’t work hard. It’s become a part of me to do the best that I can. Always.
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?
After years of working for other people, I decided to work for myself. We were at a turning point in our lives and I had a decision to make- try and continue to work for the man or make a leap into something for my family and for myself. I have a lot of experience in multiple fields including the oil field, sales, and in restaurants. With my desire to be the best that I can be at everything I do- I have many strengths so the challenge was choosing the right one. It all came down to what is truly my passion. My family. My grandma. Her dream was to own her own restaurant and I had this chance to do this for her. I used to promise her a million dollars one day and without that what came next was creating her dream. I started Tostonio’s Puerto Rican fusion. Our recipes are hers and true Puerto Rican food that is hard to find. She’s always been an amazing cook and the love for food is evident in Puerto Rico as much as the love for the country.
Tostonio’s is a traveling food and catering business. We serve locally as well as cater for larger companies including Howard Hughes, Houston Dynamo, McKesson Pharmaceutical, and more. My life has taken me several places in the world which is represented in my cuisine. I love good food and to cook so of course I did all I could to find the way to recreate or make better all that I was exposed to. I’ve grown up in places like Louisiana and Texas so we also have Cajun and Bbq options. Our menu has grown over the years to Irish and German as well. When you love good food and have a constant desire to learn and grow, anything is possible.
Tostonio’s is just the beginning. I have plans to begin Tostonio’s Cares and find a way to serve our military veterans and children in the foster care system. These topics are deep for me and a part of what I have discovered is my purpose. We serve the fire department in our community monthly and give back when we can whether it be our military and teacher discounts or sponsoring little league teams. No matter how much we grow our goal is always to give back.
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?
If I had to narrow down to only three I would say resilience, mindset, and desire to learn.
There have been times in my life, just like most others, where I have been down. Whether it was being laid off from an important job or in a moment of need becoming homeless and not welcome back into my family’s home – I was given a choice. Do I wallow in self pity or adjust. I have learned to adjust and adjust quickly which is important especially in beginning any journey. I don’t look at life as if I’ve failed but only that it’s a turn in a different direction. I don’t see failure, I see opportunity. In order to succeed, resilience is key.
The second most important quality is mindset. There are going to be lows. There are always lows. But what do you do in the face of that low? You have to push forward and control your mindset in those situations. It’s always going to be easier to fall into the negative because we are hurt or frustrated but we have to change our mindset I those situations and gain control of the situation. Only then can you move forward. Look for the possibilities and just change the avenue.
The third more impactful qualities in my journey has been constant desire to learn. How can I do this? What do I need to know? What do I THINK I know that I need to learn more about? There is more than one way to do something so if you don’t understand something as a whole and constantly researching then you will never grow anything. You won’t grow a business and you won’t grow as a person. The world is constantly changing and there is no space for complacency. If you want to be the best then you have to constantly grow. It’s easy to get comfortable but life is going to remind you that you’re not.
My advice would be to never give up, find a way, and learn everything you can. Read, listen to podcasts, ask questions, go out and experience. Never stop.
Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?
The book I suggested everyone read and was the most impactful for me is, Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki.
The most impactful points from the book for me is that nothing is going to be given to you and you need to work for what you need. Saving money alone won’t do it for you. You have to invest and need to take risk in order to be successful.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tostoniosfoodtruck
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tostoniosfoodtruck?mibextid=LQQJ4d
- Other: [email protected]
