CHENEY – Entrepreneur Carlos Fuentes is a solid example of a small town success story.
At 25, Fuentes operates several businesses in the area.
When he moved from Mexico to California at 15 years old, he could barely speak English. He lived in Massachusetts for his sophomore year of high school, but ended up completing his junior year at Ferris High School in Spokane before graduating from Cheney High School.
Shortly after graduating, Fuentes opened the only used car lot in town, C&S Automotive.
"If you can run a car lot, you can do anything." Fuentes said, adding that running a car lot can be very stressful and takes a lot of patience
But he's not just running a used car business. Fuentes completed his associates degree at Spokane Falls Community College and he is now working on a business degree at Eastern Washington University, he said.
He also juggles work and school with spending time with his 23-year-old wife, Amber. Together, they enjoy living here and want to contribute to making it even better.
"Cheney is a small town, and when you do things around here, people take notice." he said.
Fuentes said he learned what it took to be successful.
Before starting his own business venture, Fuentes had many different jobs in construction, carpentry, restaurants, landscaping, etc.
He said he has always had an entrepreneurial mindset and had always wanted to work for himself. He said he likes the freedom and the challenges of owning a business.
His newest venture is opening the The Speakeasy restaurant in the old Willow Springs building, a Cheney landmark at 809 First St.
The building was for sale and he thought, "Why not?"
Fuentes envisioned a place where friends and neighbors could gather and have a good meal.
After buying the building, it was brought up to code. The equipment and fixtures were already there, making it easier to open the location to the public.
Fuentes had considered remodeling the inside of the building, but decided to keep its original appeal after customer feedback.
He said that many customers wanted him to keep the nostalgic decor.
"Customers told me that I should keep things as they were as much as possible," he said, noting customers liked the familiar feeling they get when they enter.
Fuentes has not had any issues with supplies or employee shortages.
He said the restaurant currently has 4-5 servers, a couple of cooks, with another one relocating from California.
He said that he is bringing the new chef to work next week and the restaurant will be expanding offerings, soon.
Future plans include expanding operations to include lunch and dinner, a bar, live music and more.
The restaurant offers custom orders and gathering space for small groups.
Fuentes liked the name The Speakeasy because it reminded him of the Prohibition-era establishments.
Not only does Fuentes run a car lot and a restaurant, he also recently started a taxi service, Monkey Cabs.
Monkey Cabs operates around the clock, he said.
"If you want to go to Idaho and back, we will get you there." Fuentes said, noting this will offer Cheney residents an alternative transportation choice to wherever they want to go.
Fuentes is purchasing the old Cheney Feed and Tackle store building and will be starting a new business there, as well.
Sarah Stephens can be reached at [email protected]
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