Vanessa Orozco
Business Name
Chavelitas Pub Grill & Cantina
List of Services
Hi I’m Vanessa! I’m a local restaurant owner. I opened a beautiful modern Mexican/American fusion restaurant in Liberty Lake on the Trailhead Golf Course. I grew up in the restaurant industry and took over my dad’s longest standing restaurant (35 years this June) Las Chavelas in Coeur D’ Alene. I do a lot of caterings (weddings, bdays, etc) and love being apart of the community. In Coeur D’Alene, I’ve done caterings for charities and sponsor many students in school for sports. I hope to bring the same to Liberty Lake and surrounding Spokane area. I’m in charge of an event space at Trailhead Golf Course that can accommodate up to 100 people. I’m hoping to host community events there too. With my staff, I love building them up. I have women in management and they help me successfully run my businesses. I always want to encourage them to do well, and be helpful in any way I can.
What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I want to be more involved with helping women. Building them up and breaking those glass ceilings.
How do you stand out in your field?
I grew up in a very old school Mexican household, and the restaurants the way my dad ran them were very male driven. The environment was extremely machista, and it was hard for so many years to feel respected as a young woman. I didn’t want to be viewed like I couldn’t handle all aspects of the restaurant. I learned how to cook, wash dishes, serve, bus tables, clean the bathrooms etc. I know the ins and outs of Las Chavelas like the back of my hand. During COVID, is where I really stood out. I tripled the business by being heavily involved with third party delivery systems, and I sold family pack meals for cheap. The family pack meals were essential for my frequent customers because I knew this was a tough time for everyone. I wasn’t looking to make a lot of money off of the family pack meals, I just wanted people to come in and order to go. I built strong connections with my community during that time. I created a space where we were there for one another. Once we were able to fully open again, the restaurant was constantly busy, and I had to double my staff. I earned so much respect from my dad and my employees. I’ve had to navigate a lot in my life and I’m proud of myself being able to solve almost any problem instantly.
If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love to know how to be able to not be a control freak. Learn how to be able to have businesses run more on auto pilot. Learn how to expand more.
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
No dream is too big, work for it all.
