It’s all about climbing the ladder of success for Issac Valdivia, but he’s doing it with humbleness, lending a helping hand to others and taking pride in the place he works. His first job on the Strip was at Luxor, where he started off as a busboy for Tacos & Tequila in 2014. He worked hard and worked his way up to food runner, then barback and then server. When the restaurant moved to its current location at Palace Station, so did Valdivia. Now he’s the assistant general manager.
“All my years here, I learned about leadership from the owners of T&T,” Valdivia says. “Seeing from the perspective of being an employee and now being a manager—I always like to feel that if I help out as much as I can that it shows that I care for all the employees, and it says a lot about my character and about my work ethic.”
As the AGM, Valdivia is always out on the floor, greeting guests and helping employees. “I touch base with customers when they come in,” he says. “I love to hear about the food, the service. … A few years ago, we won an award for best tacos. So I always tell my customers, ‘If you think about all the tacos in Las Vegas, this taco right in front of you that you have the opportunity to order was nominated as the best taco in all of Las Vegas,’ which blows my mind.”
Valdivia also talks about how much he appreciates the opportunity he’s been given with the family of T&T and how he will continue to climb that ladder of success.
“I feel very thankful to be a part of this staff; it really does feel like home here,” he says. “I feel blessed to be a part of the team. … I want to keep climbing that ladder, though. I remember I used to work at this nice hotel and one day the president of the hotel was saying how he started off as a dishwasher and now is the president—and now I strive for that. To maybe be a president of a hotel one day. I feel like the sky is the limit.”
Libation: Pineapple Chipotle Margarita
Tacos & Tequila offers awesome margaritas with flavors like peach, mango, strawberry agave and the popular pineapple chipotle. This smoky, sweet, spicy margarita is a mix of Tres Generaciones Plata tequila, chipotle syrup, fresh pineapple juice, fresh lime juice, and a few dashes of a chipotle Tabasco hot sauce. Check out T&T during its happy hour Monday through Saturday from 3-6 p.m. with buy-one-get-one top-shelf Cadillac margaritas.
Benefit: The Mariachi Brunch on Sundays is extra fun when a live mariachi band plays from noon-2 p.m.
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