Meet Onel Perez | Owner & Chef

We had the good fortune of connecting with Onel Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Onel, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I am a First Generation Cuban American born in Miami Beach, Florida. All of my family was born in Cuba and Immigrated to the US in 1967. Growing up it was always a family affair at get togethers and celebrations. There was great food, great conversations and genuine people. That’s what our concept is built off of. It’s all about sharing our history, our culture and our cuisine with our customers.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In my previous life, I was an Art Director for 15 years. My specialty was Branding and Art Direction. I worked really close with Photographers and Production Teams to developed Brand Identities for In-Store and National Campaigns.

After 15 years, I was burnt out. I needed a change and I always loved to cook. I thought, what about a Food Truck. It’s low overhead, a fraction of the cost of a Brick and Mortar… let’s do it. So I bought an old Tom’s Foods Step-van for $1500 and began to outfit it as Food Truck. I had a cousin in Florida that had a Food Truck and I went to go visit them. I was hooked. Came back and within a year the truck was ready to roll. I was still in advertising and after about 8 months of just working the truck on the weekend for events and breweries, I decided to take a leap and quit my GREAT CAREER to go work the Food Truck Full-Time. My parents thought I was crazy. HA! Maybe I was, maybe I was just Naive and didn’t know any better. Food Trucking is hard! Take everything that could go wrong in a commercial kitchen, then add a motor, wheels and tires and a generator. Countless flat tires, dead batteries, generators turning off, starters going out, accelerator cables snapping while you’re driving down the road. I learned a lot from Food Trucking. It taught me perseverance. Just to keep moving forward even if you think there’s no light ahead, it’s there. It taught me it’s all about perspective and keep thinking positive. If you want it, work hard and go get it.

11 years later here we are. I do all of the Branding, Photography and Marketing, so my previous life wasn’t completely waisted. I’ve always had an eye for fine details and photography and feel that this really helps us in all of our Social Media and Marketing. Still have one Truck, mainly for large private catering and a Brick & Mortar in McKinney, going on 3yrs., and business is growing year after year. We opened the restaurant on Oct 17, 2020… right in the middle of Covid. In the beginning, we treated it just like the truck in the sense that we just focused on To-Go’s and Curbside and kept the menu small and got our TABC license so we could serve alcohol. Food Trucking had died out with Covid since there were no more gatherings and events. It just made sense to us. Once again…Maybe I was Crazy, maybe I was just Naive and didn’t know any better. NO RISK, NO REWARD!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Places to check out for the week

Breakfast or Quick Morning Bites –
Layered
Filtered – Coffee & Pastries
Bresnan’s – Bread & Pastry

Brunch
Urban Grill
CT Provisions
Rick’s Chop House

Lunch
The Guava Tree Cuban Cafe & Cantina
The Yard
Cadillac Pizza
Foxxis
Patina Green

DInner
The Guava Tree Cuban Cafe & Cantina
Urban Grill
Harvest
CT Provisions

Drinks
The Pub
The Guava Tree Cuban Cafe & Cantina
CT Provisions
The Yard
Ricks Chop House

Things to do
Shopping Downtown McKinney
The Collin County History Museum
Heard Craig Center for Arts
Food Walks of Texas
Chestnut Square Historic Tours
Chestnut Square Farmers Market (Saturday)

Parks

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Well, the list begins with my parents; Jose Ramon Onel Perez and Ana Rosa Perez. They will always be my Heroes. I can’t imagine leaving a country that you’ve called home for 20+ years with three toddlers and a couple of suitcases, not knowing a word of English, for the “Hope”, of a better life in a completely foreign land. Their courage and perseverance paved the way for my sisters and my success in life. Unfortunately they are no longer with us. I miss them dearly but they are always with me when I’m in the kitchen cooking. My passion for food, love for life and “hard work pays off” attitude, are all because of them. Te Quiero Mucho Mami and Papi.

Thank You to my AMAZING stepdaughter Mariah. She joined the family business full-time in 2016 and has blossomed into an Amazing Bartender/Manager, and all around “GO-TO”, and we couldn’t do what we do without her. Love you Yi!

Thank you to My AMAZING wife Pam. Without Pam there is no Guava Tree. She’s the one that supported me in taking the leap to start the original food truck and leave my previous career in advertising. She pushes and makes me want more and more everyday. She calms me when I’m stressed, helps me when I need a push and is almost always, the voice of reason. She’s our Social Butterfly that floats around and talks to all of our wonderful customers, always with a smile… And she does ALOT of paperwork!!! THANK YOU PAM! Love you!

OK… would also love to Thank our staff who shows up everyday with a smile and helps this Dream come True! Thanks you Guys and Girls! You guys make Guava Tree who we are! Thank You to Rodney, Caitlin, Sarah, David, Priya and Alexis.

Website: theguavatreetruck.com

Instagram: @guavatreetruck

Twitter: @GuavaTreeTruck

Facebook: The Guava Tree Cuban Cafe & Cantina

Image Credits
Natalie Diaz/The Broad Light Photography – Candid Side shot with ball cap