History

Saul Garcia was born in Jalisco, Mexico, about five hours north of Mexico City. For the first years of his life, he lived without most of the modern-day amenities that Americans tend to take for granted (running water and air -conditioning). Despite this, Saul was an optimistic and ambitious child. He began working at an early age to help his family.

At the age of eleven, Saul received the shocking news that he had leukemia. Although his family was devastated by this news, Saul held onto his dreams and became more imaginative as the days went by. Due to the cancer's rapid progression, Saul began chemotherapy soon after his diagnosis. After the treatments were completed, Saul was refreshed, believing he had been given a second chance at life.

In his teenage years, Saul moved to Mexico City, living on the streets until he found a job in a restaurant. At the restaurant, Saul realized his enjoyment of working with people. He became fascinated with the restaurant experience and liked to watch families come to eat, leaving happier than when they had arrived.

After saving some money, Saul became an avid athlete and made it to the university. His life was then upended again when student strikes in 1986 shut down the campus and he ran out of money. The situation was so bad that he left Mexico to come to the United States and follow his dreams. l came to the United States hoping to bank S1,000 & return home to finish my education, but I fell in love with this country. Saul became a migrant worker, I picked grapes, cucumbers, peaches, strawberries, whatever was in season, for three years and ultimately got to the Southeast, Saul recalls.

While in Fayetteville, NC, Saul returned to the bottom rung of restaurant work as a busboy and started to learn English at the local technical college, Six years later, Garcia was invited to work at a traditional Mexican restaurant in Louisville, KY. Still single, frugal, and hopeful, his first impression of Louisville contained the seeds of his current success.

I remember it clearly. I arrived on a Sunday evening and was downtown at 6th and Main, trying to get directions to Dixie Highway, Garcia related, I thought it was a beautiful city but there was no traffic in the streets and hardly any people around. Something was missing.

After working at a traditional Mexican restaurant for five years, he felt ready to go out on his own and provide what was missing. In 1997, Saul, his brother Manuel and two friends opened the first Los Aztecas on Herr Lane. In 1998 Saul & Manuel opened downtown on 530 W. Main St. and a few years later in Prospect Ky.

Saul operated at the location at 6th & Main for over 20 years. In 2019, he decided it was time for a change and moved the Main St. location to 445 E. Market Street. Saul believed the NuLu area was nice and perfect for the business. On November 1st of 2019, he opened the location on Market St. The following year the pandemic hit, and even though times were tough, Saul was determined to keep his business going. He wanted to make sure his employees weren't left without a job during the difficult months.

Saul was determined to provide his customers with delicious south-of-the-border cuisine and Hispanic hospitality, and now his family is determined to continue with his dream.