A Day in Event Management with Paola Mendivil

A Way to Show Care

“I always think of hospitality as a way to show care for my people,” says Paola Mendivil, Vice President of Catering for El Granjero Mexican Grill, a Bridge Street restaurant serving authentic south-of-the-border cuisine since 2007. “I don’t even cook; that’s not my talent, but I do enjoy making our customers feel welcome. That interaction with people is one of the things I enjoy most.”

Paola’s mother, Mercedes, is the cook in the family. She opened El Granjero almost two decades ago with Paola at her side. Mercedes started her career washing dishes in a Mexico City restaurant, and Paola entered the industry around age 14, working in different event venues around Mexico City.

“I didn’t choose the industry, it kind of chose me,” Paola explains. “I wanted to make sure that the family business succeeded. It was my mom's dream, and watching her grow from different positions and venues in Mexico to owning her own spot, owning her own vision of the menu, and differentiating it from other Mexican restaurants. I wanted to make sure that she met her goals.”

The mother and daughter complemented each other’s strengths. “She loves cooking for people, and I love making sure that people feel welcome and treated as family.”

Balancing Soft and Hard Skills

Paola says she learned the soft skills necessary for hospitality success – things like empathy, communication, adaptability and teamwork – in Mexico City. But she felt she also needed to know the mechanics of running a business. While working at El Granjero, she earned an associate’s degree in business administration from Grand Rapids Community College and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Ferris State University.

“I was always so afraid of math and algebra and everything like that, but I knew that I needed to at least be able to understand and interpret what the accounting was telling us about the business, and how to assess risk,” she explains. Those abilities were integral to the decision to invest $60,000 in remodeling the restaurant’s dining room recently. The risk paid off: “The dining room was beautiful, people loved it, and it increased our sales and our visibility.”

Her facility with accounting and finances also helped El Granjero weather the COVID pandemic, which was devastating to so many restaurants here and around the country. “We had our finance documents in order, and that’s how we were able to receive PPP loans and other grants.”

As Vice President of Catering, Paola doesn’t spend so much time at the restaurant. “I actually need to be in front of people. I enjoy going to events with Experience Grand Rapids, chambers of commerce and other groups, to get prospects for our catering. I’m representing the business out there; it’s like public relations.”

She’s representing the business very effectively. Though she says that many people still aren’t aware that El Granjero caters events, catering generates approximately 25% of the restaurant’s total revenue today, and the operation was named “Favorite Caterer of the Year” in West Michigan Woman Magazine’s 2025 Reader’s Choice Awards.

One thing catering clients really appreciate is El Granjero’s ability to provide personalized packages. It’s an opportunity for Paola and her staff to get creative. She says she’s always highlighting the value of the restaurant’s service, which transcends the cuisine and décor. “You need to be reliable, you need to be consistent and you need to be proud of the service you’re providing.”

Providing a Helping Hand

Paola isn’t just applying her talents to help the family business thrive. She’s also helping other entrepreneurs succeed. In 2021, she joined GROW, a local community development financial institution, as Bilingual Business Development Manager. In this role, she assists current and aspiring entrepreneurs across a nine-county region, working with them to assess their needs, identify resources and secure working capital.

“We provide training, consulting, a review of their finances and a network for them to connect,” Paola says, adding that people don’t need to go to college to build a business. “They can do a training, they can do a certificate, they can implement the different skills they’ve learned.”

She maintains that the skills acquired in hospitality can be a bridge to most any career, noting that several “very good” El Granjero servers have decided to pursue careers outside hospitality, including medicine. They bring what they learned on the restaurant floor – how to communicate clearly, how to work under pressure, how to take initiative and solve problems – to their new fields.

As for Paola, she’s proud to work in hospitality – not just because she’s supporting the family business, but also because the restaurant industry touches so many people’s lives.

“Restaurants are a hub for community. We’ve seen weddings happen here. We’ve seen engagements. “(We’re part of) those memories, those opportunities for the community to connect and support one another.”

Whether you’re born into a hospitality career or you intentionally choose it, “you really need to have a heart for it,” Paola says. “You need to care for people. You need to care for your city.” It really is a way to bring sustenance, comfort and happiness to your community.

Hospitality provides a strong foundation for entrepreneurship, whether you’re growing a family business or striking out on your own. It can also be a way to represent your culture and impact your community, while learning skills that will set you up for success throughout your life.