🔒Daring to dream: A quarter century after arriving in America, Elmer Melendez is cooking up a restaurant empire

In 1999, Elmer Melendez arrived with his wife Delmy in the U.S. with no resources, no connections, and no English language skills.

Just over 25 years later, with the support of his wife and the local community, Melendez is the proud owner of four restaurants, with a fifth on the way and plans to open one per year for the foreseeable future.

In a time where declining social mobility and increasing economic inequality may make it seem like the concept of the American Dream is on life support, the success story of the growing Melendez restaurant portfolio shows, with enough hard work, it remains possible for someone to climb the ranks all the way to owning their own business.

His work ethic and ability to work the room has quickly endeared himself to the blue-collar Greater Fitchburg area, particularly with his two-year-old eatery Dario's on Main.

“With his consistency and the friendly atmosphere he provides, word-of-mouth about Dario’s spread quickly,” Fitchburg Mayor Sam Squailia said. “He’s been awesome for Main Street.”

Given the years of blood, sweat, and tears he put into building his growing restaurant portfolio, it might be easy for Elmer to present himself as a self-made man who pulled himself up his own bootstraps.

Instead, he’s quick to mention the critical role his staff and supportful diners have played in his success.

“It was the community,” Elmer said when asked why he’s opened multiple restaurants in the Fitchburg area. “This city has a lot of potential. Fitchburg and North Central have an amazing community and good people.”

Coming to America

Having already lost his father at age 12 to violence only worsening in his native El Salvador, Elmer and his wife Delmy decided to chase a better life by moving with their two children to Massachusetts, leaving behind their extended family and everything that felt familiar. They found themselves in a land where they had no connections and no knowledge of English.

Coming from a culture where cooking wasn’t considered a man’s task, Elmer assumed he would end up driving a truck or working in construction. Yet, after getting a job washing dishes and bussing tables, he began enjoying the satisfaction of being part of a customer's nice night out.

“Nothing makes you more grateful then when you see a restaurant full of happy faces of people putting food in their bellies,” he said.

While others saw tasks like washing dishes by hand as tough work, he saw it as an opportunity to put food on his own family’s table while learning the ins and outs of the restaurant business.

Over the years, his knowledge of the business grew to the point where he felt he was ready to open a restaurant of his own. After both him and his wife worked two jobs for years to save up enough cash, in 2007 he purchased a restaurant called Dario's Brick Oven in Lunenburg.

The restaurant’s reputation was less than stellar before he purchased it, but without the money to purchase a new sign, he had no choice but to stick with the Dario’s name and try to earn back the trust of local diners.

“It was like swimming against the current,” Elmer said. “It was a lot of tears, lots of sweat, with some blood, but we never quit. It was a lot of trial and error.”

The four-year period after opening the original Dario’s in 2007 was some of the toughest times the couple had dealt with, coupled with the challenges of the Great Recession, said Delmy Melendez.

“We were very young in the industry and learning how to run the business,” she said. “Honestly, I don’t know how we got through that time.”

Delmy was still working a full-time job at that point to help support her husband’s dream before eventually joining him at the restaurant in 2010.

On-the-job lessons

By the time he purchased Dario’s, Elmer had plenty of restaurant experience, but this would be the first time he had to manage a staff.

The first, and perhaps hardest, lesson to learn was one he says is the downfall of many owners in the business: Not micromanaging the staff.

“I was the worst micromanager that you could see,” Elmer said. “That was my style. It was the only thing I knew. I lost a couple of good employees because of my ego.”

Eventually, he learned he needed to give staff the right tools and the right training, and then trust them to do their jobs.

Beyond learning the tough lesson of letting his staff do what they’ve been hired to do, Melendez said the success of his business comes down to high-quality ingredients

“By buying the best ingredients, you’re already winning half the battle,” he said.

Additionally, the kitchen must be spotless. The ideas of having a clean restaurant and using good ingredients may sound simple, he said, but once you opt for that cheaper shipment of tomatoes or decide tonight’s cleaning can be put off until tomorrow, that can be the beginning of a bad habit that can sink a business.

After learning how to run a restaurant, Elmer would go on to open Dario’s Ristorante on Fitchburg’s River Street.

Then another challenge presented itself: The global COVID-19 pandemic.

Luckily by that point, Dario’s reputation had been turned around, with his brand having established a dedicated and loyal following.

Takeout hadn’t been a focus of his business before COVID, but it would be that constant stream of customers lining up to pick up meals during the lockout down that kept the business afloat. Elmer’s own health battle after contracting COVID gave him a new perspective on life and even more passion for his business.

“I don’t think I would be open today if it wasn't for the community,” he said.

Expanding the brands

With the worst of the pandemic over, he turned his attention to expansion. After noticing a lack of high-quality Hispanic food in northern Worcester County, in 2021 he opened Tacos Tequilas Mexican Cocina in Fitchburg and Bandoleros Mexican Grill in Devens.

Eventually, he decided to fully join the ongoing revitalization efforts in Downtown Fitchburg, closing his Lunenburg location and moving his other Dario’s location to Fitchburg’s Main Street in 2023. He then set his eyes on Concord, opening a Bandoleros location in 2024. He’s putting the finishing touches on a second Dario’s location in Concord set to open later this year.

All of this is part of an ambitious goal to open one restaurant per year for the foreseeable future.

“We don’t want to stretch ourselves too thin, but we’re going to decide when it's too thin,” he said.

“It’s exciting,” Delmy said of the new ventures. “We do a lot, but we never stop.”

For Mayor Squalia, Elmer and Delmy have become an important part of the local community.

“Whenever we need something, he’s there,” she said. “Whenever someone wants to partner with Elmer, he’s there for it. He’s committed to Fitchburg.”

Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.