Founded by middle class folks on a journey to bring the village mindset back to our hard working, artistic communities. Proudly woman and latino owned, we come from humble beginnings - knowing the importance of rolling up our sleeves and the power in achieving goals for the greater good.
We understand the necessity of wearing multiple hats, as small business owners and creatives, and our ability to achieve success being rooted in personal, strategic, and innovative wellness, because as hospitality folks know - to pour into our ecosystems, each cup must be full.
Aldea, meaning village, runs on the mentality that we aren’t meant to go it alone - whether it be in developing talented teams or executing exceptional events. Our ethos of ‘it takes a village’ is founded in the pillars of Hospitality + Productions
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A great "unbossing" has taken hold in service based industries, and if we are to see a thriving working class emerge in this transitional time for art and craft - sustainable leadership is key. Aldea creates developmental assets to meet the needs of our community where they're at - either online or on premise.
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In the technological age, thinking of any business as a creative studio is sustainably necessary. From evolving revenue streams to creating end-to-end experiences, we share diy hospitality to engage with the online world and make lasting connections in real life.
Our founders were raised on Midwest hospitality and village mentalities, from both a big city and small town perspective.
Understanding the growing needs of small, independent businesses to move from surviving to thriving comes from our decades of experience, as well as a heartfelt determination to get back to a genuine way of working through the core values of hospitality starting at home.
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We get it, our founders have owned a brick and mortar business, frantically searching online for answers to a new week's worth of pain. Our solutions do more than suggest throwing money at problems - we share resources that can easily be applied to hectic demands of the day, when running a business.
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Resources work when we are able to put them to work - and like most creative folks we've seen perfectly designed assets fall short due to the missing link of aligning strategy with the heart of business needs. The Aldea difference - adding applicable action.
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After three decades in the restaurant industry we’ve learned that to succeed in business, hospitality starts at home - meaning within ourselves and our closest ecosystems. While we’re no doctor or medical authority of any kind - we do know what works for the business we've built today and our partners that apply a culture of wellness and connection as a grounding point. When culture is the home base, everyone has the capacity to reach further - both personally and professionally.
Our Village
Midwest roots and the creative power of restaurants in Chicago brought our founders together, in business and life. A deep understanding in the power of partnerships has been found in their work over the last eighteen years - in restaurants, consultative services and new business development.
In their work at Aldea, Liz and Mark take the powerful lessons they learned in opening, operating and owning restaurants over the past two decades, in order to serve the businesses and folks much like them - who understand struggle.
From new openings to kitchen design, building culture and crafting leadership - the duo brings a full range of resources and opportunities to meet businesses where they’re at and reimagine the reach of hospitality.
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As a granddaughter of two farming families, born and raised in the Midwest, Liz Mendez learned the art of hospitality on modest means and a village mentality. After decades of building a portfolio career in and around big city hospitality, Mendez is on a mission to revitalize the towns, neighborhoods and villages that were instrumental in her upbringing, by invigorating small businesses with the combined power of organization and creativity.
As a former restaurant owner and operator, from large scale establishments to corner bars and Michelin stars - Liz understands the pressure of running a day-to-day brick and mortar business. At Aldea, Liz takes over twenty years of experience in restaurant operations, beverage development and leadership coaching to help small businesses go from surviving to thriving.
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Working in kitchens for three decades has fit Mark Mendez like your favorite softly worn, faded pair of jeans, as he’s always felt at home amongst the chaos - controlled and otherwise, in the kitchen. Growing up on the south side of Chicago in the 70s and 80s sometimes felt like a galaxy far, far away - and while being raised on the village mentality, he left his neighborhood in a lifetime pursuit of hands-on education.
The heritage of Puerto Rico and Italy have been the essential foundation in Mark’s cooking, as seen in his experience both in Chicago and New York City. A career spanning three decades in James Beard award winning restaurants and local neighborhood favorites, led to opening his own restaurant, as well as operating multi million dollar revenue establishments. As an owner Mark learned first hand what it means to wear multiple hats - from marketing, accounting, and leadership development. At Aldea, Mark believes in sharing his knowledge and expertise to help small businesses in a continual quest to see the hospitality industry thrive.