Don Cheo’s proudly celebrated its fifth anniversary in May 2024. Our story began on May 22, 2019. We are rooted in a long standing family tradition, passed down from generation to generation, to serve in the restaurant business.

Sandy (one of our founders) has been immersed in the restaurant industry since the age of 16. Growing up, she was surrounded by the hustle of her family’s food business, cutting vegetables alongside her sisters under the watchful eye of their grandmother. This early exposure to the kitchen made the culinary world second nature to her. Still today, her sister also continues the family legacy, owning a restaurant in Wyoming.

Our other founder, Eliseo, started his culinary journey after arriving in the United States in May 2016. Starting as a prep cook, Eliseo quickly demonstrated his talent and determination. By August 2017, at just 19 years old and with only a year and two months of cooking experience, he became a partner and head chef at a restaurant.

The idea for Don Cheo’s began in Longview, Washington, where our founders were living together. In 2018, Eliseo, also known as Cheo, was a partner at a restaurant in Rainier, Oregon. They learned that a restaurant in Yakima, which had been on sale since 2017, was still available. Despite the challenges ahead, including discovering they were expecting a child, they decided to seize the opportunity. Eliseo sold his share in the Rainier restaurant, providing the necessary funds for this new chapter.

After moving to Yakima on May 1, 2019, with a newborn and no immediate support network, they  started establishing their new restaurant. The first six months were incredibly challenging. Then, just as they began to see growth, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing them to downsize. Despite these hardships, the resilience and hard work of our founders, alongside the support from Eliseo’s father, Ignacio, saw them through. As the situation improved, they began hiring again. Today, Don Cheos has grown to include two food trucks and a team of 19 dedicated employees. We are immensely grateful for the commitment and hard work of our staff, which has been crucial in our success.