There’s nothing more American than a rags-to-riches story, and diners. Count The Boys Restaurant and its owner Francisco Maciel in both of these categories.
At 19 years old, Maciel immigrated to Santa Maria in 1975 from his homeland of Jalisco, Mexico. He first found work picking strawberries.
Feeling restless, Maciel soon got another job working as a dishwasher at The Boys Restaurant on College Drive. The year was 1976.
As a diner, not only does The Boys Restaurant symbolize America, but it’s also very old-school Santa Maria. Like a lot of restaurants in the city, The Boys gives a faint glimpse into the city’s past. Opening in 1963, according to Maciel, it still has all of the booths, the long counter, and no-frills diner fare, such as patty melts, burgers, and breakfast at any time of the day.
It wasn’t Maciel’s ideal second job, especially since his workday started at 5 a.m. with working in the fields, and finished off by 11 p.m. at the diner. He believed that his hard work would pay off someday. It did. He moved up the ladder to cook and, eventually, owner status.
In 2011, the place went up for sale and Maciel knew he was going to lose his job. Instead of having to go through the trouble of finding another job and then having to work under a new boss, Maciel decided just to buy the restaurant.
“I didn’t know how to do anything else, and I didn’t need to be hired by another person,” Maciel told the Sun.
Maciel paid $70,000 to buy The Boys Restaurant. His investment has since increased due to general operating costs and upkeep of the restaurant, but Maciel says that business is good as long as he is there.
“I don’t have time for days off,” he laughed. “I need to be here.”
And he hasn’t stopped. Unless he’s sick, there isn’t a day Maciel can’t be found behind the counter slinging hot plates in a chef’s hat.
Once a worker himself, Maciel is now in charge of 12 employees. And with the exception of minor renovations, Maciel has kept the restaurant the same since he started there nearly 40 years ago.
Maciel has been a worker all his life, but it’s all for his family. When coming to the U.S., Maciel said his goal was to have a house and a family by the age of 50. Now he has several houses. It’s not like he wouldn’t have had this opportunity in Jalisco, Maciel admits, but he credits his success to hard work.
“You work hard anywhere and you’ll do OK,” Maciel said.
The Boys Restaurant is located at 117 N. College Drive. For hours and menu, call 922-1515.
Highlights
In the era of social media advertising, websites like Facebook and Twitter have become essential tools for businesses to market themselves across a wide audience. To help local businesses get a handle on this concept, the Lompoc Valley Chamber of Commerce is holding a free social media workshop on Tuesday, Sept. 29, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the upstairs conference room at the chamber of commerce. It is a strictly basic workshop, with the focus being primarily on how to use Facebook to promote a business. Discussion will include other programs such as Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. If there’s enough interest, follow-up workshops could be scheduled. Rob Vesely with California Computer Rescue will also be on hand to talk about Internet security. For more information, call 736-4567.
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Sep 24 – Oct 1, 2015.