Opportunity is abundant and meant to be shared at Suite C, 1635 Robert Street in St. Paul. From their bright office space, Edwin Valdéz, María Domingo, and Miguel Zárate, celebrate three years since the founding of their partnership, Food Staffing Services LLC.
The founding partners have stayed strong not only because of their foundational friendship, but also their commitment to the unpredictable nature of entrepreneurship. They all share this conditioning by having professional experiences in the fast-paced hotel and restaurant industry, collectively all playing a variety of roles.
María Domingo, VP of Operations, who comes from a family of entrepreneurs, always wanted to be able to sustain herself professionally with running her own business. She is an expert in the area of human resources. Edwin Valdez, Director of operations, brings experience in business operations, and Miguel Zárate, President and CEO focuses on customer relations and business development.
These partners and founders identified a need in the market to attract workers for the restaurant and hotel industry and dually a need for job placements for the Latino community. A dynamic and culturally sensitive personnel recruitment service was the solution bridging these gaps.
Being part of the Latino community and being actively involved in it has been key to discovering and connecting with more available jobs is the philosophy of Food Staffing Services.
“Knowing those who work with us is important so that everyone feels part of the organization and approaches us with confidence. We support events and we are sponsors of soccer tournaments, we are volunteers in the schools where we live, and we make alliances with organizations that deliver food to those who need it, it is part of the work we do because we value each member of our team and the community”, says Miguel Zárate.
With this model, Food Staffing Services saw a successful first 6 months of operations.They welcomed more than 100 employees and began services with new and eager clients. However, the unexpected arrival of the pandemic in 2020 would impact many industries, most dramatically in hospitality–the industry that Food Staffing was built to serve. Food Staffing Services experienced the loss of 95% of their employees in just 10 days and the team’s vision of the future was muddled.
The business’ owners had to be creative and opportunistic. They pivoted from their original idea and adjusted their business model to offer personnel recruiting services for the food production and manufacturing industry to essential businesses during the pandemic; thus becoming essential workers too. Shortly after making these adjustments, they recovered their losses and even managed to grow their business.
After making strategic decisions regarding the challenges that arose, they further capitalized on opportunities, expanding the market to other states.
Today Food Staffing Services operates in Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan and provides jobs for more than 1,000 workers.
Miguel, María, and Edwin knew that they wanted to own their own business long before starting Food Staffing Services LLC. They made the decision to prepare themselves in topics of business education, leadership, and financial education.
The Latino Economic Development Center (LEDC) in Minnesota, offered business education classes which educated the team in their early stages of business development. The unique professional training put them in an expectant situation to start their own business according to Edwin. Furthermore, LEDC’s network of contacts helped introduce and refine their business concept and provided them a space to share experiences in the business community and have access to events, María Domingo notes this as foundational.
Miguel summarizes, “LEDC not only gave us training, but even more, it allowed us to believe in our ability, in ourselves to pursue our dreams and make them come true. It helped me to believe that I too can be a successful business owner” .
Miguel invites all those who can donate to LEDC to continue its mission of encouraging economic development for Latinos in Minnesota. “This helps the local economy, the state economy, and helps all of us to continue growing together. LEDC has been here for many years and is getting stronger, thanks to the work they have been doing, also thanks to all the businesses that have come from there and continue to contribute, and also to the people who continue to support with their contributions.”
Finally, the partners reflect together their vision and their role in the community: “We know that we are creating something great, however, it is very important for us to remain the same, so that people identify with us; like many people, we came to this country to seek to fulfill our dreams. A call to all those dreamers, to know that they are not alone and that there are organizations and people who are there and who can help them during this process.”
Edwin Valdéz – Partner and Director of Operations
María Domingo – Partner and Vice President
Miguel Zárate – Partner, President and CEO
