Today we’d like to introduce you to Rocio Ramos.
Rocio, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My name is Rocio Ramos, but people call me Rosie for short. Takoz Express was born in August 2018. It had always been my mother’s dream, Lucina Ramos, to have her own restaurant one day. My mother used to own a food truck about 20+ years ago, but later got a job offer and let go of that dream of one day owning her own restaurant. It has been an honor to carry out that dream today.
While attending Georgia State University for my Associates Degree in Business Administration, working two jobs, one at a car dealership during the day and waitressing at a local restaurant on some nights, plus attending school at night, it was tiring. Afterwards, I decided to leave both of my jobs and bought a food truck with my mother to start our own little food truck business in construction sites within our community. To start that business was also a whole other journey. We would wake up around 4 or 5 in the morning to start preparing the food, making sure we had everything ready and selling by 7am. We worked hard and started saving as much as we could so that if one day, we would have the opportunity to open a little shop, we would have funds ready.
In 2017, I would go in search of various locations, calling different commercial lease properties and yet I would receive no answers or simply “NO”. I still remember the moment where I was starting to lose hope in finding a location because of the responses I would usually get. I had seen an area where I knew it would be a great location to grow in, but it just didn’t seem to be the one. One day while talking to a family friend, he mentioned a small bakery shop that had sadly closed, yet it could be something I would be interested in. After making the trip to Dawsonville, GA, I could not be more excited once I saw it, and was eager to see the inside of this small establishment. Though the location is not the best, I knew that this was the one I needed. I have to admit, I was a little nervous making that call after being told “NO” so many times, but I knew my faith was bigger, and I got an answer!
During the whole process of planning for this little hidden gem, I remember vividly not knowing what to do or what I got myself into. Thankfully, I came across two awesome people Vanessa and Eddie Custudio who are owners of La Feria Services and I couldn’t not be more thankful for them.
While I was in college, during my free time, instead of preparing myself for my next class, I would be drawing logos, making phone calls, designing the menu, asking myself “what is it that I want people to experience?”, and so much more. Two of my college friends and classmates, Gloria Beltran and Ruth Palacio, would provide their feedback and helped me greatly when I felt lost. I wanted it to be authentic, transparent as possible. I knew for sure that I wanted people to taste and experience our tacos the way we do, just cilantro, onions, lime and some good traditional salsa. Additionally, I knew that we HAD to bring a little bit from home to this shop. That is, our traditional “brown roasted, salsa de rayado”, a chile spice that we import from the villagers of our hometown, Zimapan, Hgo., Mexico.
After two years of saving money, running back and forth with paper work, designs and applications, we finally got green lights, and opened our doors on August 6, 2018. I added my mother’s name “Lucy’s Takoz Express” to the print of our door, to let her know that her work and dream had paid off. At first, I was nervous to know if our potential customers would like our food, being that it was different from other establishments, but little did we know, we kept seeing customers on a regular basis. Word-of-mouth within our community started to spread rapidly.
I learned so much about myself, my capabilities, how to be disciplined, persistent, and dedicated were my essential words that I constantly reminded myself and I continued to learn till this day. Again, I had no clue what I had gotten myself into, but I couldn’t be more proud of it as I look back. Many times, I felt like I was ready to open, yet things would get pushed back but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. Going to college during the becoming of Takoz Express was quite a challenge, working in the morning, having classes in the evening and still coming to pull all-nighters is something that I can’t believe I was able to manage. I can’t thank God and give Him first the Glory because without Him, I would not be standing where I am today. From then I knew that where I wanted to be as far as location, wasn’t where I was destined to be and I’m proud of my community and grateful for the support.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
At the beginning, I knew that location wasn’t in its best view. We are located within industrial business suites, so we aren’t seen like many other restaurants are. People could easily miss us if they drove around. Other than that, we have been blessed with an awesome community that has supported us since day one. We can’t thank them enough for sharing their food, their experiences and recommendations to their family and friends and also, our social media.
Takoz Express – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Takoz Express is a Mexican Taqueria establishment. We serve from Tacos, Home-made Tamales, Quesadillas, Gorditas, Enchiladas and so much more. We are known for our tacos, tamales, gorditas, burritos and fresh guacamole. We take pride in our food and Lucy’s original recipes that she has perfected over time. I’m proud to bring our cultural food to Dawsonville, GA and share it with our community. I’m also proud of the hard-working women that all work in this small taco shop and the dedication that we all put as a team to satisfy our customers’ needs.
What sets Takoz Express apart from others is our fresh home-made food. We always strive to make your drive worth it. If there’s something that you don’t see on the menu but we can do it for you, we will. We love to go above and beyond to help each customer and provide them with a fresh meal that they can enjoy. We absolutely enjoy reading our reviews online and always listen to our customers suggestions for improvement.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I strongly believe in hard-work. I come from a single-parent home and I have seen the struggles and hard-work from my parent. Through this journey, I have met amazing people that I had never encounter or had any connection prior to meeting them, and I’m grateful. Having this small business, I know that hard work makes us realized also the importance of luck yet attitude and discipline also plays a roll.
Contact Info:
- Address: 30 Industrial Park Road. Suite 100, Dawsonville GA, 30534
- Phone: 706-203-1128
- Email: takozexpress@yahoo.com
- Instagram: @takozexpress
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TakozExpress
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