Jaime Bonilla is a firm believer that success comes from one’s own hands.
Three years ago, Bonilla and his wife, Claudia, took a giant leap and opened a Mexican restaurant in Clinton. Now, still believing he is responsible for his own success, Bonilla is expanding the local eatery.
Mi Finca Mexican Restaurant, located on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, keeps a steady flow of diners coming in and out on a daily basis. Open seven days a week, the authentic restaurant offers mainly traditional Mexican food, but has a few other options on the menu, like pupusas, a traditional Salvadorian dish.
“Doing the work yourself, with your own hands, is part of being successful,” Bonilla said.
Expected to be complete for the three-year anniversary celebration in October, Bonilla is expanding the current restaurant, adding on additional space that will allow for 50 extra seats. Additionally, the new space will have a hostess station, extra storage, bathrooms and a waiter station.
“Our customers come in and they don’t want to wait,” Bonilla shared. “It gets crowded and busy in here sometimes and we need the extra space for our customers.”
When Bonilla opened the business three years ago, he renovated the current property, which was a printing shop, with his own hands. The restaurant owner has been the one who has hammered every nail and measured every board in the addition. With the exception of electrical and plumbing work, Bonilla has done it himself.
“I’ve done all the work myself,” Bonilla said.
The work on the extra seating is done when he clocks out from his “day job” managing the restaurant. Sometimes, Bonilla said, he has to step in and wear the chef’s hat if one of his cooks is out.
“Business has been good,” Bonilla shared. “It’s starting to look like our business is growing bigger than the space we have, so we decided to add the additional room.”