Mexico City(Unsplash)
Rafael Soto
Night markets & small food lines
5 years off the clockSpanishEnglish
Rafael walked out of hotel hours and into a masa-and-market operation that fits in a pickup. He coaches cooks who can already make the food but freeze at permits, cost, and the second stall.
Left from: corporate kitchen sous-chef
How they got off the 9-to-5
He kept one hotel shift a week for four months while selling at a Sunday market. When weekend gross beat the shift, he bought a used cooler and a scale, not a food truck. The truck came in year three.
- Food & Hospitality
- Markets & Commerce
- Local Services
What you leave with
The session is the conversation. These are the artifacts that follow it.
- Stall-to-steady planMenu of three items, costs, a market calendar, and when (not) to hire a helper.
- First-night equipment quoteCooler, scale, packaging, POS — nothing theatrical.
- Two weeks of close-of-night check-insSend the numbers; he answers before the next service.
- Written recap in Spanish or EnglishSo the person at the stall with you can read it too.