The Ingredients of Success
Story by: Jacob Rivard
Building a perfect dish requires patience, care, and a lot of know-how. Luckily for Ezequiel Vazquez, the co-owner of Seven Reasons, he’s come prepared. Alongside fellow co-owner and chef Enrique Limardo, Vazquez has worked tirelessly to ensure that Seven Reasons is one of the top restaurants in the DC area. Known for their unique flavor palate and jaw-droppingly delicious dishes, Seven Reasons is a standout example of a top-tier restaurant on the east coast and a must-visit for foodies of all kinds.
VAZQUEZ’S journey to success, however, began under different circumstances. As an immigrant from Argentina, Vazquez moved to the United States with his wife to pursue a fellowship, quickly joining activist circles as an anti-corruption consultant. He’s represented a variety of Latin American businesses in the private sector, providing a unique insight into the ins and outs of their individual success. Watching the businesses build themselves from the ground up lit a fire of passion within Vazquez’s heart. After working on the outside of these businesses, he wanted a chance to do it himself.
An entrepreneur and foodie at heart, Vazquez decided that his next goal was to open his own restaurant. A fateful encounter saw Vazquez meet Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo, a chef in the Baltimore area renowned for his remarkable cooking style. Within a week’s time, the two met again to plan out what soon became their next passion -- opening and operating a restaurant of their own. With Limardo’s cooking and Vazquez’s business acumen, the two formed Seven Reasons, a mainstay in Washington, DC restaurant culture.
The key to the restaurant's success? Certainty
“90% of restaurants fail,” Vazquez begins, his voice taking on a more stern tone. “It was my goal to find out not only why they fail, but how we can avoid the same fate.” Shortly after the brainstorming stage, the two visited over 70 different restaurants to understand what makes the DC restaurant scene tick. They concluded that the experience was paramount to the success of the business. With this in mind, Vazquez began to tailor every little detail of the restaurant to match the high standards of the DC scene.
The best feeling of owning a restaurant, Vazquez says, is sharing the experience of joy with the world. “Nothing feels better than hearing someone say they’ve never had food like this before.” Seven Reasons boasts an employee retention rate of over 95%; most of the employees working in the restaurant now have been there since they first opened their doors. “The most important part of building a business is building the culture. If you don’t have a good culture, you don’t have a good business.”
While success comes in many forms, the ingredients to a consistent, clean business model remain the same. As far as Ezequiel Vazquez and Seven Reasons go, it appears they’ve found the perfect recipe.
