Few may know the petite restaurant on Pace Boulevard boasting fresh, quality Latin food including tamales and aguas frescas has a mosaic the family created themselves.
Tracking down 500 plates and pots across the region from a Shalimar Goodwill to yard sales, it also took over 800 hours to make. The grout makes the difference, says Tacos El Fluffy owner Geo Zelaya, of how the artwork takes shape. There’s also a map inside the shop where you can scan a QR code to add your own pin, marking where you came from.
Geo embodies these things: creativity, hard work, diversity, authenticity, kindness, and connection, all emanating from him. He breathes new life into the meaning of entrepreneurship, a ride that’s hardly smooth and more rarely graceful.
Surrounded by satisfied customers, Geo talks with the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of West Florida (UWF) while inside his busy shop, his family and employees — sometimes one in the same — pinch-hitting behind the counter while he shares his story.
A young Black kid from Honduras, his mom brought their family “to the United States for a chance at the American Dream.” Geo would go on to serve in the US Navy for over six years.
Geo discusses his upbringing, his mom and grandparents giving him a whole toolbox of skills. Geo wanted to help his single, working mom and so started cooking for the family, getting familiar with his mom’s recipes. The veteran adds he even felt equipped for boot camp because of his family’s standards and qualities. He kept cooking. Kept researching and learning. He meal-prepped while in the service and started doing so for 10 other people.
Yet desiring more monetary reward over time than medals or awards for his tireless work ethic, Geo made the difficult choice to head back into civilian life and become a small business owner.
“I wanted my work to be compensated through monetary means. And I opened up a restaurant and I…haven’t made a single dollar yet…” he jokingly trails off, genuinely laughing at himself as entrepreneurs must do in their start-up years.
Geo’s been in Pensacola for five years now, and his mom became local too along with his two younger sisters who all help with the new business.
“She's my best friend,” he says of his mom. “She's my business partner. She’s my advisor. Just someone that I love deeply and dearly.”
Last year, Geo earned the Pensacola title of Entrepreneur of the Year at the EntreCon Awards hosted by the Studer Community Institute. He gave thanks to God for the blessing and his whole team who he calls truly a second family, “making each handmade tortilla with love and being equally invested in treating our guests with kindness and excellence.” He added on Facebook after the award ceremony how their mural is a great representation of individuals of different shapes, sizes, colors, and backgrounds coming together to create something beyond themselves, like his community.
Geo credits the area with much of his success.
“Programs like the SBDC that have been, I mean, amazing is really an understatement,” he says of the no-cost consulting and in-depth resources. “Helping entrepreneurs like myself navigating the unknown of opening up the business … it’s been beyond incredible.”
Through early struggles, Geo recalls, he would go in and talk to the SBDC and reach out to area mentors.
“It just comes down to having a positive attitude and don’t play the victim card. Life is hard. If you spent a lot of time in the rut of how difficult things are. It’s not gonna get any better. But just finding an amazing support system and … a village. That’s really crucial…Everything is possible.”
Geo explains how the SBDC program made many obstacles and barriers feel much smaller if not insignificant.
“A tip I would tell my younger self,” he reflects, “if I would've known earlier, I would've definitely reached out to the SBDC.”
We hope another entrepreneur or small business owner will know about SBDC earlier now after seeing Geo’s wildly inspiring story.
Experience Geo’s warmth, delicious food, and delightful space at 707 N Pace Blvd. in Pensacola and on Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, and Roadtrippers. Plus, see their Food Crush with Pensacola Pulse and their grand opening story with the Pensacola News Journal.
Visit sbdc.uwf.edu if you would like assistance with your small business.
