The American dream can become a reality for today’s immigrants. At least that is the story that Jesus Soto’s life tells.
Soto, along with five other individuals or groups, will be inducted into the Boulder County Hall of Commerce on Sept. 15.
Soto was born in Durango, Mexico, the third of seven siblings.
He and his wife immigrated to the United States, specifically Longmont, 50 years ago in 1972 and set out to find a better life for their family.
He first worked at Longmont Foods, and then transferred to the University of Colorado Boulder, where he worked as a janitor for three years. Wanting to expand his horizons, he took a position with Coors Paper Packaging in Boulder, where he worked as a packer inspector.
Recognizing the need for professional development education, he completed his GED and landed a position at Precision Power Systems, learning about transformers, inductors and memory backup systems for large companies. During this lifetime he met mentors who inspired him to start his own business.
In the end, In 1997, he realized his dream of owning his own business when he founded Las Americas Tortilleria at 830 Lashley Street in Longmont. The business Soto ran with his family was the first tortilla factory in the state of Colorado. They make fresh tortillas daily and sell them directly to the public.
And it became successful and popular.
“When I visit my mom in Longmont, the first thing I do is stop here and grab fresh salsa and fresh tortillas from the oven. It is very good and very affordable. You can’t find stuff like this in New York City,” wrote one customer.
And another customer wrote: “I’ve been going here for 17 years. i like this. From corn to wheat, all their tortillas are delicious. Incredibly delicious. Every time I go, I take them to my family in California. Now every time they know I’m coming, they wait.”
Soto opened his second store in Commerce City in March 2000. Other family members opened stores in Colorado as well as Kansas and Nebraska.
He is a father of two daughters and grandfather of five.
The Hall of Fame event is at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Boulder. Event information and tickets are available on the event website.
This article was originally published by BizWest, an independent news organization, and is published under license. © 2022 BizWest Media LLC.
