Son of the El Azteca empire prepares takes over the throne!
Sandy Springs native Victor Macias was born into the hospitality industry. His parents started El Azteca Mexican restaurant in 1981 and grew it to 10 locations. Today, they own two and gifted the newest, near Perimeter Mall, to Macias.
“The restaurants are a part of me,” Macias says. “It was always part of my life, how I identified who I am. It’s in my blood.”
Despite that, Macias didn’t plan a career in the industry. After working as a host and server at El Azteca in high school, he studied business administration and marketing at the University of Mississippi. While looking for a corporate job, he helped his parents at their restaurants, shadowing the director of operations.
“I fell in love with it,” he says. “Every day is something new. Time flies by.”
He stopped applying for other positions and became manager, then director of operations. He now oversees all three restaurants, focusing on Perimeter. He handles payroll, takes inventory, coordinates event catering, meets with vendors, brainstorms new menu items and interacts with guests. “I’m at the restaurant daily. I’m very hands-on,” he says.
By creating the Perimeter location from the ground up, Macias learned to negotiate a lease, apply for permits, design a space, select furniture and create efficiency for servers. “I was building the bones of internal operations. The things no one ever thinks about I learned firsthand,” he says.
The latest location opened on Peachtree-Dunwoody Road in October 2022. A two-story space, it includes a wraparound balcony overlooking the King and Queen buildings. The menu features the usual El Azteca staples, including nachos, burritos and quesadillas, as well as “trendier” items like tortas, chorizo tacos and queso Oaxaca.
Macias says he enjoys thinking up new items, such as a cocktail promoting a new alcohol vendor. “When I went to school, I wanted to do advertisements and commercials,” he says. “I was able to incorporate that in the restaurants by handling menu designs and promotions.”
He also enjoys roaming the restaurants and mingling with guests, many of whom are long standing regulars. “Our locations are so connected to the community they’re in,” he says. “Growing up, everyone knew who my family was. The restaurants were staples in our area. We call it the Mexican Cheers. Everyone knows your name.”
When he’s not at work, the Buckhead resident plays singles tennis, takes his English bulldog, Mr. Pickles, to the dog park and tries new restaurants around Atlanta. At least once a month, he travels, everywhere from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, to France or Italy.
He also contributes to charitable foundations, including Project Open Hand, the Atlanta Humane Society, Root Local and nsoro, which supports youths aging out of foster care. His goal is to join the board at a nonprofit in the near future.
He knows he’ll be taking over his parents’ El Azteca locations in the next few years and hopes to open additional sites in West Midtown, Brookhaven and/or Chamblee. “It’ll be a lot more work and more responsibility. I’ll be carrying on what my parents started—their legacy,” he says.
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