Amy Zuber''s interviews with several of the few Hispanic entrepreneurs in the food service industry are presented in "Diversity at Work: Hispanics" in the May 24, 1999 issue of Nation''s Restaurant News. Sixteen percent of the 9.5 million workers employed in eating and drinking establishments are Hispanic, but very few have risen to middle and upper level management positions. For whatever the reason--a lack of language skills, poor training programs, a dearth of Hispanic role models and mentors--these business owners believe that it makes good business sense to develop their Hispanic workers.

In a number of areas, the majority of their clients are Hispanic, and they believe that it is important for the managers to speak Spanish as a gesture of good will. They agree that the major impediment to advancement is that their Latino workers are not being encouraged to aspire to do more. To address this issue, one of the companies stresses education and helps finance their studies. Another approach is to promote only from within. Several individuals who started as dishwashers with one firm are now managers, and they serve as examples of the opportunities available.

Other, non-minority owned restaurant chains also are working to develop their Hispanic workers. One requires all English-speaking employees to learn 100 food service words in Spanish, and its Spanish-speakers to learn the same words in English. The human resources manager credits this with making Spanish-speakers more qualified for promotions, and with creating a team spirit among the staff.