Latin Connections offers best to all worlds

Restaurant owner breaks into phone, DISH network biz

Flags of all the Latin American countries flap in the wind above Pedro Ayala's new business.

"When businesses open here in the U.S., if they're Mexican, then they put the Mexican and then the American flag up," he said. "So, (the business) is Latin Connections, so we're trying to build the flags from Latin America … That's sort of a nice way to attract people. Some people come in and say, 'You have my flag up there.' That's really nice."

Ayala opened Latin Connections, located at 826 Broadway Ave., June 1.

The business offers AT&T and DISH network, and will be able to send money to other countries in a few months.

"It's something we offer for the Hispanic community," Ayala said. "That's why we call it Latin Connections."

But Ayala stressed that his business is open to everybody, and not limited to the Hispanic community.

"Actually, we had 14 activations in the last week," he said during a June 11 interview. "We have a real good start, but most of my customers are Caucasian, so it's incredible. I'm just amazed by that. And pretty much, 80 percent of my customers at the restaurant are Caucasian too, so I don't care if you're Mexican, from Chile or from Europe, we're just human beings and we're here to make a living. We'll treat everyone with respect here."

The store is hiring three people and is in the process of training employees. Ayala said he is working with Skill Source.

He also works as owner-manager of Tacos El Mexicano with his father, which has operated for the past two and a half years.

"I always wanted to do something like this, but I was scared," he said. "I went with a restaurant first, because my dad used to have a restaurant in Mexico City. So we have experience. Right now we're kind of new on this."

At the time that he spoke to the Columbia Basin Herald, Ayala said that he had had a week of training with AT&T and the DISH network.

"I'm not a professional with AT&T and the DISH network, but I'm going to get there pretty soon," he said with confidence. "What we're trying to do here is give the best customer service possible. I want customers to be able to relax, enjoy a movie, watch TV or have a cup of coffee while they wait for service. Pretty much, we want customers to feel like they're at home."

He said that he would try to go to into the other AT&T distributor before, but always found it packed, another reason to open Latin Connections, although the business cannot yet take payments from customers yet.

"That's the only thing I can't offer right now, but when it comes to activations, renewals, when it comes to add something to the system line or add another line, I can do that really fast," he said. "We have four computers and three employees, so we have more computers than employees … The customer deserves everything."