Negocios Now

www.negociosnow.com 28 Junio 2023 JGMA JUAN GABRIEL MORENO President & Founder Juan Gabriel Moreno is an award-winning architect and president and founder of Juan Gabriel Moreno Architects. In the last two years, JGMA's growth stemmed from rejecting marginal opportunities. JGMA proudly stands as one of three design partners for O'Hare's new concourses and has been entrusted by Related Midwest with designing its Chicago casino bid. Prominent developers such as The John Buck Company seek JGMA for significant developments. As one of the largest Latino architecture firms in Chicago and the Midwest, JGMA's achievement highlights the talent within its office and emphasizes its commitment to quality and innovation in design. Moreno was born in Bogota, Colombia, and studied architecture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California. JLDC Construction Inc. DANNY CASTILLO & JOSE LAGUNA Co-founders and friends of 35 years, Jose Lagunas and Danny Castillo aren't the people to wait for an opportunity to knock on the door. They believe in knocking on doors to find them. In the last two decades, JLDC has grown to become one of the leading carpentry and painting subcontractors in Chicagoland. Properties with green construction fences once signaled wealth. For the young entrepreneurs, it signaled opportunity. They approached the owners for work, were refused, but persisted. No job was too big or small. JLDC has now been recognized as a Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Contractor of the Year and is a designated minority business enterprise in Chicago, which has opened more doors. JP Architects Ltd. JOSE PAREJA Founder Jose Pareja started JP Architects Ltd. on September 7, 2015. JP Architects is a full-service architecture firm located in Palos Heights. The firm is a growing, diverse operation finding success in residential design, commercial architecture, restaurant design, and public planning and capital improvement. Pareja came to the United States from Ecuador at age 4 and attended Chicago Public Schools. He studied architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and at 18 he worked full-time as a draftsman for a single-employee firm while continuing his studies. Working in this small business environment introduced Pareja to all aspects of design and business operations. This first experience laid the foundation for a future where he envisioned running his own firm. Jumping Bean Cafe ELIAZAR DELGADO Founder After an epic recovery from the pandemic, the popular Jumping Bean Cafe is preparing to open a new restaurant at 2025 S. Halsted St., with a capacity for 60 people. Eliazar Delgado, its founder, could not be happier with the growth of his Jumping Bean, an emblematic cafe for the Latino community in Chicago that he founded three decades ago at 1439 W. 18th St. The new cafe will be the third location for the business. The second opened in 2016 in the subway station at Damen Avenue and Cullerton Street. From the 20 employees that Jumping Bean has today, some who have been working there since the start of the business, the company will reach 60 workers. L.B. Hall ESTEFANIA ROA Owner & CEO Estefania Roa is a life coach as well as the owner and CEO of L.B. Hall, a thriving company based in Chicago. She joined the company in 1990, became vice president in 2012, and became president and owner in 2022. She has led the company to remarkable growth, defying the male-dominated market in which it operates. Founded in 1990, L.B. Hall has decades of experience improving the fireproofing and insulation of homes, hospitals, schools, libraries, hotels, warehouses, churches, office buildings, and many other facilities. L.B. Hall offers services like intumescent fireproofing, cementitious fireproofing, and insulation. It has completed over 6,940 projects serving over 500 clients in the Midwest region. Los Comales LARRY GONZALEZ President The company formula for rapid growth is finding the right people and offering them the opportunity to grow within the company. The most recent Los Comales locations, in Evergreen Park and Orland Park, are operated by employees who were developed through the company system. In some locations are employees who don't have the capital or knowledge to run a restaurant, but the company gives them the chance to grow with Los Comales. The company runs services such as human resources, and the operator runs the day-to-day operations. Gonzalez says his father Camerino taught him to bring out the best in people: If you challenge and encourage employees, they will respond. Monterrey Security Consultants JUAN GAYTAN CEO Juan Gaytan Jr. founded Monterrey Security Consultants Inc. in 1999. In 2020, he assumed the role of board chairman for Monterrey Security. Since founding Monterrey Security, Gaytan has overseen the company's growth and expansion to become one of the leading security companies in the nation. To help protect iconic Chicago facilities and events such as Soldier Field, the John G. Shedd Aquarium, and the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the company employs experienced security experts such as a retired first deputy superintendent of the Chicago Police Department and the former director of the Illinois State Police. In addition to his duties of independently controlling all management, policies, and business operations, Gaytan leads all civic and philanthropic efforts for the company. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Eduardo Rodriguez E duardo Rodriguez is the founder and CEO of San Jose Imports Inc., San Jose Trading, Invescomex Corp., and Dulcelandia Candy Stores. Rodriguez was born in Durango, Mexico, and immigrated to California at age 12. He attended Loop College (now Harold Washington College) in Chicago, earning a GED and an associate's degree in business administration. Rodriguez began his entrepreneurial ventures in 1985 when he incorporated San Jose Imports and opened two supermarkets in Chicago, doing business as Centro Supermercado for nearly 15 years. When NAFTA was approved in 1994, Rodriguez launched San Jose Trading to import confectionary items to the United States. He soon began importing candy and piñatas from Mexico and candy from Puerto Rico, and developed the wholesale candy line Dulces Del Sol in Chicagoland. In 1995 he opened the first Dulcelandia Candy Store on Kedzie Avenue in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood. With his family, he now owns and operates five Dulcelandia Candy Stores and manages the Midwest's largest retail and wholesale distributor of Mexican candy.

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