Nine years ago, he didn't know English. Now he runs four Margaritas restaurants

FRAMINGHAM — One might say Michael Hernandez epitomizes the American dream.

Upon moving to the country nine years ago from the Dominican Republic, he possessed neither a job nor the ability to speak English. Today, chiefly through hard work and desire, Hernandez is director of operations for four Margaritas Mexican Restaurant locations — and harbors dreams of someday becoming a franchisee.

“Everyone in the higher positions at Margaritas set such a strong example for me from the moment I started," he said. "If you see people doing everything it takes, you start to think, 'Why can’t I?'”

His rise through the ranks at Margaritas can be traced back to his first job working in the kitchen at a McDonald’s in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Hernandez had left his Dominican hometown, Santiago de los Caballeros, at age 21 to create a better life. And with family members living in the area, it was a no-brainer to come to New England.

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One day, while visiting his cousin’s barbershop, someone referred Hernandez to a McDonald’s manager for a job in the kitchen. The young immigrant was soon flipping burgers while learning English from his coworkers.

“It was hard because there were some Spanish people in there, but at the same time most of the managers did not speak Spanish," said Hernandez, now 30. "The communication was hard, but that never stopped me."

Hernandez downloaded a translator app to his phone and began constantly watching movies with English subtitles, which helped him learn proper pronunciations.

However, there were difficulties. Managers sometimes had to type what they wanted to say to Hernandez into his phone.

Desire to learn

“It was a hard transition," he said, "but my desire to learn was more than the hard time I was having."

While he was improving his English, one of Hernandez’s favorite films was the 1972 classic "The Godfather."

“I don’t get tired of watching that,” he said.

After working at McDonald’s for a few months, Hernandez met a coworker who had a second job as a line cook at Margaritas. Through that contact, Hernandez scored an interview and was hired for the Mexican chain's Nashua location.

“It was my first job working in a ‘real’ restaurant and it was a lot of fun,” he said.

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Through hard work and determination, Hernandez was able to steadily secure new positions of increasing importance.

“I remember saying to one of the guys who used to work with me in the kitchen, ‘I’m not going to stay as a line cook here,’” he said.

In 2015, Hernandez was promoted to assistant kitchen leader.

“That meant a lot to me," he said. "I was new to this country, only being here for two years, and this company recognized my hard work and trusted me.”

For two years Hernandez, on several occasions, worked from 4:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at McDonalds, followed by a night shift at Margaritas.

In 2016, Hernandez was offered a salaried position at Margaritas that turned into another promotion, to kitchen manager, a year later. And in 2018, Hernandez moved to become assistant general manager at Margaritas' Methuen location.

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He became general manager in 2019 for the Margaritas in Waltham, where he worked during the pandemic.

Four months ago, Hernandez was promoted to executive general manager of Margaritas' Framingham and Northborough sites.

“I always tell people the same thing: If you do your job, work hard and come to work every day and make it fun … time goes by, and when you least expect it, you are in a different position,” he said.

'Pursuit for greatness'

Steve Belanger, vice president of operations, had a front-row seat during much of Hernandez's rise. Belanger said he admires his colleague's strong work ethic — especially in regards to dealing with post-pandemic obstacles.

"His relentless pursuit for greatness, and willingness to do whatever it takes, elevated him to train managers and take on our Northborough location as an executive general manager — fully staffing it after reopening from the COVID shutdown," Belanger said in a statement.

That relentlessness led Hernandez to yet another new role.

This month he became director of operations, training managers and ensuring that restaurants are running properly at four locations: Framingham, Northborough, Waltham and Salem, New Hampshire.

“All of the positions I have been through have been way faster than most of the people at Margaritas,” Hernandez said. “It is a great company to work with … they care for the people that work for them, they value hard work, and it’s a fun company.”

Hernandez especially enjoys connecting with customers and staff. He says he's able to relate to them on a level that other managers can't.

“I don’t care about doing any positions because I come from there,” Hernandez said. “They (his employees) know I’m not afraid to go in the back and start cooking with them, taking tables or running food … I don’t think twice.”

Making a better life

Oddly, as a youngster in the Dominican Republic, Hernandez never showed interest in the food industry — he mainly worked in retail, selling phones at a Verizon store. His introduction to restaurants was just a result of satisfying a basic need to make ends meet.

“It’s hard over there (in the Dominican), you have to know people or need to work maybe 10 times harder than I did here (in the U.S.) to get to where I am,” Hernandez said. “We don’t have everything that people have here … so when you come to the U.S. and see all these things we just want to work hard and make a better life.”

That better life he’s working so tirelessly to create is not only for himself but also for his girlfriend Alexandra, whom he met while working in Waltham. She was a manager at the time, but now stays home to take care of their three children — daughters Jaylah, 3, and Evelyn, 18 months, and son Sebastian, 5 months.

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"They are my No. 1 priority and (the reason for) my drive to continue to do more,” he said.

Hernandez and his family live in Boylston.

Looking back, Hernandez is both happy and proud. But he's not done yet.

"Every time I moved to a different position, I told myself, ‘I did it, but there’s more,’” he said.

He now hopes to own a franchise in the next three to five years.

“I always say, ‘Run it like you own it’ — I run every restaurant like it’s mine,” Hernandez said.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Dominican immigrant rose to top manager at Framingham Margaritas