SBM Hall of Fame: Ray Gallardo, Casa Gallardo

A Lifetime of Learning Brought Full Circle

by Julia Paulus Ogilvie

Ray Gallardo got his start in the restaurant industry as just a teen while spending the summer with a friend in Santa Barbara, California. Gallardo was hired as a dishwasher at the Biltmore Hotel, where he washed what he describes as “a million dishes,” learning about not only the hard work required for success in the industry but also the need to learn the industry from the ground up.

Eventually, when Gallardo moved to St. Louis, that is just what he did—accepting entry-level positions, excelling through promotions and learning all he could from the front to the back of the house along the way. Then his employer asked him to run a Mexican restaurant in downtown St. Louis.

“I said, ‘I don’t know how to cook Mexican food,’” says Gallardo. “So I did research—I read cookbooks, went to the two Mexican restaurants in town, called family in Mexico for tips. I came up with a new menu and changed the financial controls.”

The first month after Gallardo took over, the restaurant made money, and it was the first time Gallardo thought he could open his own restaurant. Ever the vigilant researcher, he went to California and Texas to get ideas and began to develop a unique menu.

“I opened up Casa Gallardo with a loan from the SBA in 1975,” says Gallardo. “I had front- and back-of-the-house experience and management experience, and they thought I was a good risk.”
Casa Gallardo was so successful that he was able to repay his SBA loan in 18 months and soon was garnering the attention of major players in the industry. “In 1979, General Mills bought Casa Gallardo to make a chain out of it,” he says.

Serendipitously, Gallardo was asked to join the General Mills executives at their annual conference in Santa Barbara. “Who knew 20 years later I was going to come back to the Biltmore where General Mills introduced me to other executives from all around the world?” he says. “I hadn’t signed the agreement yet, but they said, ‘Will you come up and say something?’ I said, ‘This is the first time I came through the front door.’ I said, ‘All it takes is good margaritas and good food.’ Is this a great country or what? People believe in and invest in you.”

Gallardo stayed on for five years, helping the chain expand into the East and Southeast. “We were doing $60 million in sales, had 1,000 employees and had 38 restaurants,” he says.

Creating the Casa Gallardo chain has been Gallardo’s greatest accomplishment in business. “I never thought in a million years that it would happen,” he says. “As a result, I was provided with the experience to open other restaurants on my own.”

Over the years Gallardo has founded and sold various restaurant concepts, including Ramon’s Jalapeño Grill, Patrick’s, Ozzie’s Restaurant & Sports Bar, Bevo Mill and others. He and his wife still own City Coffeehouse & Creperie in Clayton, but Gallardo considers himself retired from the restaurant industry.

Today he shares his entrepreneurial expertise as a volunteer mentor with SCORE, hoping to help those who want to open a restaurant or improve a current concept. “I had failures and mistakes that made me better,” he says. “Now I can pass that on to SCORE clients.”

Gallardo feels especially dedicated to SCORE because of its connection to the SBA. “Because of the SBA, I could go into business for myself,” he says. “SCORE helps those who don’t know how to go into business through the diverse knowledge of the mentors, who are from varying industries and backgrounds. SCORE is free because the mentors just want to help the community by creating more business owners and, therefore, more jobs.”

As Gallardo explains it, when he was given the opportunity to create Casa Gallardo with the SBA loan, it multiplied the amount of money going into the economy “because my employees were then going out and buying clothes, shoes, food, etc. And in addition to creating jobs, I had employees starting their own businesses and then employing more people.”
Gallardo’s best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to be well-prepared in whatever field you want to be in and familiar with the business. “Do your research,” he says. “Check into your competition. Be committed. Be ready to put in the work. Know that it will take work. Stay focused.”