Twenty-six years ago, Luz Maria Nevarez arrived from Mexico and took her first hostessing job in Vero Beach. She bussed tables in Port St. Lucie for two years, served in Fort Pierce for two more, then managed for thirteen years in Okeechobee. Last month, she celebrated the fourth anniversary of Takos Cantina, the Bradenton restaurant she now owns.
Veer off I-75 toward Lakewood Ranch and join a Day of the Dead fiesta. Skulls in floral headdresses grin from the walls. Starburst lights glitter upon black lacquer tables and white leather chairs. The pungency of red onion and cilantro fills the air. Mariachi melodies weave with clinking margarita glasses, hissing fajitas and chortling from the bar.
“I saved my money, and they gave me the opportunity,” Nevarez says of her former bosses, the Rodriguez family. “Now we’re partners.” Hector Rodriguez also co-owns La Casa Patron in Sarasota. Here, Nevarez runs Takos Cantina with the help of Vincente de La Cruz, manager and longtime colleague. Her brother, niece and daughters, Hally and Giselle, round out the team.…