Gutiérrez, José Luis, 1941-

José Luis Gutiérrez is a self-made entrepreneur and icon in Las Vegas, Nevada, who immigrated at a young age from his hometown in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. José’s childhood memories are filled with nostalgic and loving stories from being raised by his grandmother to working at his uncle’s mechanic shop from a young age. José remembers his childhood as a tough one since he had to start working early in life and did not get to finish high school even, but he relates how his mother always motivated him to do big things in life. José married young in Mexico and then decided to move to the United States with his wife and son. His son and wife arrived first and then José; they all lived in Santa Barbara, California for ten years. This is where he had some family members and he then started working in the restaurant business and as he described, “did a little bit of everything: from cook, to busboy, to waiter, and then to become a bartender.”

José’s optimism and positive take in life made him move into several positions and learn English from his peers. After working as a bartender for the prestigious Biltmore Hotel in Santa

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Barbara, José decided to visit Las Vegas with a friend to “try his luck” at finding a more prosperous future. Soon he was a busboy at Sultan’s Table and quickly promoted to a server. Unfortunately, there were some layoffs at the time but since José was known for his hard work and had networked with people from the industry, he was able to get another job. José’s creative force saw himself making a lot of money at his jobs and decided to gather some of his friends to start a business so he will not have to work for someone else anymore since that was always his passion, to pursue more.

After several complications, José put together his money and his friends’ and went to California to buy a machine to make tortillas. Such business did not exist in Las Vegas at the time, which was the late 70s, early 80s. José then went through a lot of work to bring the heavy machine from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, himself driving a truck that he rented. After getting a place rented, he decided to continue solo and paid his friends back the money they had invested in purchasing the machine and continued on his own. José then started “Los Arcos,” a tortillas production company that was new to Las Vegas. As José remembers, there were very few Mexican restaurants locally at the time.

The journey has not been easy and José melancholically remembers everything that he went through on his path and the struggles he overcame to become the mayor supplier of tortillas and chips for restaurants and stores in Las Vegas, Nevada. José recalls his wife selling tortillas on the streets while he continued to work at The Dunes Hotel. Meanwhile his business and factory grew and it is now a family business where José’s son, Gustavo is the vice-president of operations.

José has contributed to the Latinx community and influenced the diversity of the culture in Las Vegas. José along with his friends also established “Club Social Mexicano,” a non-profit organization for local Mexicans; they promote the culture and provided scholarships for students as well as toys for children during Christmas. José now enjoys the fruits of his hard work and carries on the memories of how his positive attitude and self-motivation to seek more took him to where he is at right now where he is more than grateful for all his experiences lived so far.