After nearly three decades of hard work, El Ranchito and La Calle Doce owner Laura Sanchez finally gets the recognition she deserves. Last week, Latina Style named her Entrepreneur of the Year.
Sanchez and her husband, Oscar, opened La Calle Doce in Oak Cliff almost 30 years ago. Their Mexican seafood was a hit from the start, so they opened El Ranchito two years later. In 1999, the pair opened a second La Calle Doce outpost in Lakewood with the help of their son.
But after the departure of her husband and the passing of their only son, Sanchez was left to helm the family business on her own.
"After my dad left, she had to step up. She's a really tough lady and I admire her for that," daughter Silka Sanchez says. "I think most people would buckle in that situation, but she didn't."
Now, Sanchez runs the restaurants with the help of her brothers, sisters and daughter. "We're the kind of family that's good at working together," brother Jesse Sanchez says. "We have a lot of fun." In the gallery above, we get to know the brood in the order of their succession to the throne. [The Feast]
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