Manny's Tortas

Manuel Gonzalez is from Mexico City. He moved to the United States 29 years ago after finishing culinary school in Mexico. After many years working as Chef in a handful of Twin Cities restaurants and Prom Catering Company, he learned the soon-to-be opened Mercado Central at 1515 East Lake Street in Minneapolis and was looking for applications from prospective restaurateurs. Having always dreamed of opening his own business, he applied and was chosen as one of the first restaurants to be part of the Latino Business Development Project, opening in their first location in 1999. Together with his sister Victoria, who has a background in hospitality management and more than 15 years of business consulting experience, Manny runs Mannys Tortas in the Midtown Global Marketing and a booth in the food building at the Minnesota State Fair. We worked hard to create a location in which American and Mexican cultures came together. In addition to running the restaurants, Manny is frequently a guest speaker for economic development programs, and a guest chef at locations such as Macys Department Store and Midtown Global Market. He also teaches cooking classes for different events such as Cinco de Mayo and The American Diabetes Associations Diabetes EXPO.