The history of C25 began as the project of a couple of students more than eight years ago, becoming one of the most important signature restaurants in Mexico City D.F.
By: Ana Milena Alarcón Barreto
The team formed by the spouses Abel Hernández and Nasheli Martínez, who serve as manager and chef respectively, has managed to mix innovative dishes, an intimate atmosphere, service and a good interior design, which has turned their dream into a reality that managed to consolidate and be a source of employment for the group that works
shoulder to shoulder with them.
The site is a refuge located in the La Condesa neighborhood, one of the prestigious sectors of Mexico City, the menu is prepared thinking of cosmopolitan diners but at the same time accept a touch of typical Mexican flavor.
It is interesting that the lack of a notice at the entrance of the premises has become a marketing strategy. When passing through the front, you can hardly presume that there is the place and yet discovering the secret has led to a game among diners, who see C25 as a place that has generated true and loyal fans. But to get to this point, they had to go through different stages, some difficult and others very learning.
Nose for business
From a very young age Abel Hernández had that taste for business related to events and banquets; his first company was founded with only 14 years of age (he is 29 today), it consisted of the organization of events and parties.
"This comes from the idea of me and one of my best friends. We served 15-year-old parties and different events, where I began to get involved in the world of food and beverages; then little by little we began to specialize, getting involved with a school of hospitality and gastronomy, "explains the restaurateur.
Thus, the most logical thing for Hernández was to study a career related to what he was passionate about, however he wanted to give a little pleasure to his father, a tough and conservative businessman, who preferred that he graduate in a career somewhat more recognized at that time. He studied some semesters of Foreign Trade, but the "bug" of the restaurants was
Despite the opposition, he decided to try his luck at the Centro de Estudios Superiores San Ángel, (Cessa) from where he received the title as Hotel and Restaurant Administrator.
At the same time he was still trying to start a business in the area and together with his girlfriend Nasheli, they projected a company that consisted of the organization of events and parties, offering their services on the Internet, but the business did not yield the fruits they wanted due to the lack of time, since they were studying half of the career, which required them to concentrate on their studies.
Upon graduation, Hernandez began working as an administrator at several upscale restaurants, but what he really wanted was to run his own business. The answer came dressed in humility; a friend asked him to advise him on a business that looked hopeless, with a number of problems and obstacles... but Abel only saw one opportunity.
"C25 was a business that a couple of friends and I acquired together, it had some legal term issues, with licenses that we couldn't get and were needed to open the business.
First it functioned as a cafeteria, hidden from view of the general public, we did not sell what they had as an expectation. To be able to do it differently, you had to fix many permits, licenses and procedures, and that process was a little complicated," he explains.
Four years it lasted closed, but for the entrepreneur it is considered the stage of maturation of a young recent graduate, with a dream, faced with the reality that required him to take risks and demonstrate what he was made of.
His family was a fundamental piece in this whole process, his father previously reluctant to change began to support him, as well as his mother and brothers. "After overcoming the first frictions, my father always supported me and threw me many 'batons' encouraging me as much as possible, there was always the example of my dad who was very enterprising, since we were kids he motivated us to set up our own businesses and make careers for ourselves, so it was something very beautiful," says Hernández.
A learning journey
Nasheli's life was always linked to cooking, from a very young age she related to her mother and grandmother, preparing typical dishes of Mexican cuisine. As they cooked, they shared, talked, and enjoyed that special connection.
At 19 years of age her adventurous and enterprising spirit took her canada, there fate led her to the house of some chefs, so she understood that this was the professional path she wanted.
"Soon I returned to Mexico and enrolled in a cooking school, then I returned to Vancouver and worked in an Italian restaurant called Vida de Lujo for fifteen months; when I entered the kitchen and saw the pans, I said to myself, this is what I want to do, I learned a lot in that restaurant, the Chef was Argentine and helped me with the language. I went 'nailing' in the gastronomy, that's where I learned the most."
She returned to her country where she studied hospitality at Cessa, but as she could not stay still for a long time she decided to go to Switzerland to do a six-month course of high European food. She worked for three months at the school hotel and returned to Mexico to cook in some restaurants. "Until I got into the banquet business with Abel and little by little the C25 restaurant happened," she explains excitedly.
However, her youthful appearance and the fact that she was a woman was one of the great obstacles she had to be accepted into the guild. That is why being the captain of her own kitchen only brings her many satisfactions. This tiny woman is the heart of C25, she handles with responsibility six men who attend with respect to her orders, moving with ease through what she considers her territory.
There she designs exquisite dishes, which she calls contemporary food, in which the diner can discover flavors of the world, from the exotic food of the East to the most typical of Mexican products, which however is easy to taste, leaving her customers satisfied and delighted with the gastronomic experiments of the Mexican.
Solutions to crises
Its business vision lies in respect for both its customers and its staff of employees whom it considers from the family, its policy in terms of the administrative is to avoid the rotation of its staff, always keeping them interested and involving them in the tasks of the restaurant, so that they feel that they are part of the success of the business.
Abel Hernández expresses the importance of overcoming moments of economic recession with his employees, so among his strategies is to encourage good relationships, training them, improving their incentives such as tips
and using their abilities to give them new trades that benefit them monetarily, such as instead of having third parties for maintenance work, giving themselves the contract to receive extra money.
As spouses and entrepreneurs, deference to the authority of each one in their spaces has been paramount, since as is logical they coexist 24 hours a day together, which can become a challenge for their stability, so they have learned to complement each other both at work and in the privacy of the home.
As for the current economic crisis, Hernández considers that there is not a very encouraging outlook, but despite everything it is time for entrepreneurs in the industry to start designing strategies, offering better products, growing the offer and adapting to the situation, achieving alliance with producers and daring to propose among other solutions "grow the supply, and adapt to the situation, look for more volume in sales, even if our marginal contributions are a little low, look for a higher profit margin and sales."
Since you know the history, if you ever visit the D.F. you will find one more option in the catering industry. C25, a dream that Abel and Nasheli made come true.
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