INTRODUCTION

Paso Robles, famously known for its wine dining, is also home to many local restaurants. Across the city, there are over 60 local and family-owned restaurants, according to Tripadvisor. Many are predominantly around downtown city park. With the city being 137 years old, so much has been established in terms of restaurant families growing. 

Students who grow up around these restaurants learn a lot from their families’ businesses and juggle multiple responsibilities such as school. These three Bearcats have experienced firsthand the reality of being raised as a “restaurant kid.”

SOPHIA MARTINEZ: AGAPE RESTURANT 8:39

Sophomore Sophia Martinez has been helping at her family’s restaurant, Agape Restaurant 8:39, since she was 14 years old. Spending about an hour daily, she finds herself staying after school to help clean up. 

“My dad has always wanted to own a restaurant, it was one of his dreams actually, and just watching him work hard and being able to reach his dreams is such an inspiration,” Martinez said.  

Martinez highlights that she’s very grateful for being raised in a restaurant family because it helped her learn the value of hard work and perseverance from her father, who started the restaurant with a friend. 

She respects her father’s dedication and acknowledges how the restaurant is a significant part of her life. She also appreciates how she’s created strong connections to the employees at the restaurant, describing them as sweet, kind, and like family. 

She expresses that the best thing about growing up in a restaurant family is getting free food, “I’m very grateful that this is an option to me and so easily available,” Martinez said.

Agape Restaurant 8:39, located on Riverside Avenue, is a breakfast and lunch restaurant that primarily offers Mexican dishes. Agape is open  from 6am to 2pm, and filled with many options to choose from, most popular ones being birria chilaquiles, egg benedicts, and chicken fried steak. 

Martinez’s favorite dish is the chicken chipotle melt and the berry chicken salad because it reminds her of childhood and the gratefulness she has for her family’s restaurant, 

“I tend to appreciate all the work put into other restaurants since I know all the work that gets put into all that firsthand,” Martinez said.   

JAQUELINE BECERRA: SPRINGSIDE RESTAURANT 

17 years ago  Springside Restaurant opened its doors on Spring Street and began serving breakfast and brunch for the community. Here you’ll find senior Jaqueline Becerra putting her black shirt on, tying up her hair, and getting ready to greet customers. She works diligently at her family’s restaurant—Springside located on spring street.

Becerra began working for her family’s restaurant when she was 15 years old, on her own accord. She explains that her parents never pushed her to work for the restaurant. But when she wanted to start earning money, she decided to work as a hostess. From a young age, Becerra had spent countless hours in the restaurant’s office waiting for her parents to finish working. 

“Watching my family work so much has taught me the importance of hard-work, like I’d see how they’d get tired after work, but they still kept showing up for their customers,” Becerra said. 

Becerra explained that she’s gained so many life skills growing up as a restaurant kid, she’s learned how to memorize large qualities of items and multitasking. She also believes that her long period of restaurant experience helps with building up a resume.

Springside Restaurant sells a variety of food: Mexican and American., but the restaurant is only open from 7am to 2pm. Most popular and best selling dishes being omelets, burgers, salads, and regional dishes.

Her favorite dish from the restaurant is huevos rancheros, a traditional Mexican dish that has fried eggs served on top of fried tortillas covered in a tomato salsa. 

“Honestly, I’m just grateful to have such a unique upbringing because it’s taught me so many lessons,” Becerra said. 

DIANA OJEDA: J’S BURGERS

For senior Diana Ojeda, the aroma of fresh burgers at J’s Burgers is the scent of home and hard work. Ojeda began working for her family business as a cashier when she was 13 years old. Only in middle school at the time, she initially began with wiping tables and passing out food. 

“My dad cooks the food and opening the restaurant was always a dream of his, everything there is made by him so it’s extra special to me,” Ojeda said. 

Ojeda’s father spends each day at J’s Burger as the cook.

 Starting at 8am and ending at 8pm, he works daily to serve his customers with fresh burgers. J’s Burgers has been up and running since 2005 and has quickly become a local and favorite burger place in Paso.  The restaurant is located in spring street, offering various combos and burgers: mushroom burger, jalapeno burger, ortega burger, double cheeseburger, and much more.

Ojeda remembers that when she was in fifth grade, she had to spend a lot of time in the restaurant doing her homework, 

“I was probably there more than I was at home, honestly, I went a lot after school,” Ojeda said. 

Watching her family own a restaurant taught her that owning a restaurant takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication especially when it comes to hiring employees, promoting the business, and handling the financial side of the business.

Ojeda’s favorite dish is the jalapeno burger that is made up of jack cheese, avocado, chipotle sauce, and fried jalapeno. 

“I’m just thankful for everything, my family’s business and the experiences, because it helped me learn a lot about customer service and communication,” Ojeda said.