Lilliam Mclester, Owner

Born and raised in the small town of Corozal, Puerto Rico, Lilliam Mclester came to Georgia upon graduating from The Inter-American University of Puerto Rico with a degree in Business Administration. From an early age, she was determined to become fluent in English and live in the United States. After obtaining her first job as a hostess, she discovered that her passion was in the restaurant business, and was set on making her dreams of owning a Mexican restaurant a reality. Throughout the years, she learned the value of hard work, sacrifice, and perseverance. Juggling with three children, she continued to work hard and save money. While the journey wasn’t easy, Lilliam was fortunate enough to meet Rafael Jaime in 2008. Mr. Jaime, the owner of multiple well-known Mexican restaurants such as Laredos, Las Palmas and CT Cantina & Taqueria, gave Lilliam the opportunity to be a part of his organization. She then invested her money in Laredos. While Lilliam owned and managed various businesses before, she was delighted by the Cumming community and describes the people as “extremely noble and charming.” Lilliam, who is also a co-owner of Las Palmas and Laredos Taqueria, continues working in Laredos and hopes to open additional restaurants in the Forsyth area.  

Rafael Jaime, Co-Owner & Founder

Rafael Jaime, aka “La Mara,” grew up in a small town in Jalisco, Mexico known as San Jose de la Paz. His humble beginnings called for him to discontinue elementary school in order to help with the upkeep of his family’s farm. At a young age, Rafael recognized the hardships him and his family were going through and wanted to move to the states with the famous dream of being able to provide for his struggling family. In 1979, at the age of 18, Rafael and his older brother crossed the California-Tijuana border with the promise of sending money back home. They settled in Atlanta, Georgia and were offered a job at a Mexican restaurant called El Toro. Little did Rafael know his hard work in the years to come would pay tribute to his first day on the job. He started off as a dishwasher but his position did not last for long. He moved through the kitchen ranks and was head cook for two years. In that role, he was nicknamed “La Maravilla,” “La Mara” for short; translating to “The Marvelous.” This nickname emerged due to his quick hands and ability to swiftly handle incoming tickets on the kitchen line. In 1982, he moved into front of house. Again, starting at the bottom as a busser, to then server, to eventually be an assistant manager. These promotions all happened within 3 years and without being able to speak English. He remained a manager until 1989 when he became a managing-partner in a new restaurant called El Rodeo.

The rest his history. Since then he has opened and closed a total of 40 restaurants—20 of them still operating to this date. Rafael strives to give countless ownership opportunities to others as other did to him in the past. His hard work and generosity to the community was recognized by the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and he was awarded The Lifetime Achievement in Business Excellence.

His life journey and experiences along the way have been applied to the opening of his newest, largest restaurant, Ct Taqueria. Years of accomplishments and tribulations have resulted in what you experience today.