Creator Spotlight: David Aaron & Juanita Mesa, Latin Fresh
David & Juanita, Latin Fresh, Politan Row at Colony Square
Hometown(s): David is from Miami FL, Juanita is from Bogota, Colombia
What’s your origin story?
David: Juanita and I met in Colombia, where I have some bars and restaurants. We first met through a mutual friend at the bar. I owned a catering company in Miami for 20 years and when COVID hit, a lot of things got cancelled and we were trying to figure out what we would do. I ended up not being able to do anything with the catering company during COVID, so instead I went to Colombia to save the restaurants there. I stayed for 3 years, we grew a lot during the pandemic and did well in Colombia. After those 3 years I told my partners that I needed to go back to the US. I had never lived anywhere else before even though I had travelled the world. So, I was headed back to Miami and then Juanita and I decided that we wanted to do something together. Miami was very different after the pandemic, and everything got really expensive and a business there just didn’t make a lot of sense to us. At that time, my sister and parents had already moved to Atlanta so we started researching what was going on culinarily. We saw it as an opportunity to do something different in the fast-food world, coming from fine dining. My background was very high end, and this is my first fast-food concept. What Juanita and I wanted to do is try to represent Latin America in a bowl.
Juanita: I left Colombia when I was ten years old and did all my high school in Australia and then went to Capetown, South Africa and studied hospitality management. After I graduated, I went to work in various hotels, mostly the Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons. Then, I lived and worked in Barcelona and Azerbaijan , followed by two years in Sweden. After all of those wonderful experiences, I went back to Colombia because my parents had a farm there and its home to me. This is when I met David. When we decided that we were ready to build a family together and take the next step, we both agreed that we had more potential to develop our ideas outside of Colombia, and we considered Miami, but ended up deciding on Atlanta. Not only is his family here now, but we also have a newborn son and this is a great place to bring up our child. We found out we were expecting right after we opened the restaurant. I never would have thought that I would ever live in the US. I thought that I would still be in Europe, but I see a lot of potential for growth here in Atlanta. I love hospitality. Hospitality is still my life. I’ve also learned to cook with David. It’s not my passion but I know how to do it. I am detail oriented and I love talking to people.
How did you come up with the Latin Fresh concept? Miami was very different after the pandemic, and everything got really expensive and a business there just didn’t make a lot of sense to us. At that time, my sister and parents had already moved to Atlanta so we started researching what was going on culinarily. We saw it as an opportunity to do something different in the fast-food world, coming from fine dining. My background was very high end, and this is my first fast-food concept. What Juanita and I wanted to do is try to represent Latin America in a bowl. This is the smallest project I’ve ever done in my life, but the most hours and the hardest I’ve worked. There’s a lot of depth to Latin Fresh in both the food and representing our Latin culture. First, we wanted to represent all of Latin America so we have a recipe from Cuba, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, etc. Second, what we eat today is very important and a lot of chefs are doing it at a high level. The processed foods that are so readily available create more problems with our kids’ and our own nutrition. Everywhere you turn, there’s processed foods and additives and preservatives. What we’re doing with Latin Fresh is really changing the way we eat. Just because it tastes good doesn’t mean you have to put something that’s not good into your body. Everything we serve is very clean, no additives, and made from scratch. You will feel good when you eat it.
What’s the best dish on your menu? Juanita: The vegan chickpea stew, it’s a Brazilian recipe. I’m not vegan but it’s my favorite. It’s all plant based, so it’s very clean. David: Definitely I want to say it’s the Peruvian. It’s the most popular. It’s roasted chicken and I love having it with rice and beans and all the toppings and all the sauces.
What are you doing when you’re not working? Juanita: I love to dance and I’m obsessed with a good Negroni.
David: I’m a huge cocktail guy so I love to just hang out and treat myself to a great cocktail, and also just do absolutely nothing. I love to watch movies because I can just turn off and escape.
Any future plans for Latin Fresh or other concepts? From the beginning our goal was to open a lot of the Latin Fresh restaurants and become the next Chipotle, so we do want to expand, but everything in its time. Right now, we’re honing all of the processes and the systems first. Building the teams and the trainings. Next year you’ll definitely see a few more.