From flipping burgers at In-N-Out, to now serving up top-notch Mexican cuisine in Lagos, El Padrino’s Chef-in-Chief, Uzo Umeh, has come full circle. She’s built a business that’s now known — and celebrated — for “love, excitement and contentment,” as well as a loyal community of faithful Padrinos, over the last 5 years.

So, what’s next? According to the food boss, it’s continuously working towards delivering better food in the most efficient way possible, listening to her audience, and perhaps most importantly, introducing a delicious tres leches cake to the menu that’s going to blow your socks off.

EatDrinkLagos: Tell us a bit about your career background and how you transitioned into the food world.

Uzo: Well, I got my first job when I was 16 at In-N-Out Burger in California, and after college, I transitioned fully into food service. For a year, after I graduated from college, I was opening restaurants for a fast-growing pizzeria called Pieology. However, at 24, I had a 6-month stint working as the branding and communications lead for an investment group in Lagos. It was that experience that solidified my desire to work in food as my full-time career. It was also those 6 months that gave birth to the idea of El Padrino Restaurants.

EatDrinkLagos: What were your expectations of owning a restaurant vs. the reality?

Uzo: The reality is very much in line with my expectations, but that’s because of my extensive background. Now, if we’re discussing the expectations of owning a restaurant in Lagos vs. the reality, that is a different ball game.

EatDrinkLagos: What’s the most difficult thing about running a business in Nigeria?

Uzo: The ideal transitional question! Inadequate government infrastructure to empower small businesses is one of the biggest barriers to entry.

EatDrinkLagos: What were the initial reactions to El Padrino being a pop-up restaurant as opposed to a "full-time" one?

Uzo: Love, excitement and contentment. We had a lot of our community members get emotional about our opening because they have watched us build this business from scratch since 2017. It’s not easy going from having one hot day a week, “EP Taco Tuesday,” to trying to accommodate people daily. We are still adjusting, but even with this initial stress, we are so grateful for all the love and excitement that our Padrinos have shown us and continue to show us.

EatDrinkLagos: How do you want people to feel when they eat food from El Padrino?

Uzo: Joy. Joy. Joy. Joy. Only joy. More joy. Absolute joy! We have such a joyful time in our kitchen and put so much love into our food, so we want people to feel that love and joy when they eat our food.

EatDrinkLagos: How did the idea for Taco Tuesdays come about?

Uzo: First of all, throughout my college years in Long Beach, I can count on two hands how many Taco Tuesdays I missed. My friends and I lived for Tuesdays. So when I got to Lagos and didn’t have a restaurant yet, I knew I had to pivot into pop-ups. My second pop-up ever was about a month after my arrival in Lagos, and a few mentors I had at the time had just opened The View Hotel in Lekki. They offered me one night to do a pop-up, and luckily it was a Tuesday, so we called it Taco Tuesday. However, it was a one-off at the time.

Almost a month later, I approached Afolabi at WorkBox to collaborate with him on something. He was amazing and said he would like us to do something weekly. I am pretty sure the next words out of my mouth must have been, “Let's do Taco Tuesdays!”

“We have such a joyful time in our kitchen and put so much love into our food, so we want people to feel that love and joy when they eat our food.”

EatDrinkLagos: What’s your personal favourite thing on the menu?

Uzo: Sheesh, that is like asking me to choose my favourite child. So, my four go-to’s are different variations of our Mini Quesadillas, a half rodo and a sweet pork burrito with guac, chips and red salsa, and one of each signature taco. But if I had to pick one out of the four, it’d be our signature tacos. I have those things like 10 times a week, no cap.

EatDrinkLagos: What’s an item you’ve wanted to introduce on the menu for the longest time?

Uzo: Our tres leches cake. It’s coming soon enough!

EatDrinkLagos: With food costs rising rapidly, how does the business manage to remain profitable?

Uzo: It is so hard, but we have to keep fine-tuning and fine-tuning, without cutting corners or ignoring our core values of dignity, love, and respect.

EatDrinkLagos: What’s an important business lesson you recently had to learn?

Uzo: Always get a second professional opinion when dealing with contractors and vendors. Essential!

Learn more about Uzo’s business journey here!