“I come from a small country town in Guerrero,” he said, adding that his father was a vaquero who owned cattle. “At 15, I left for the big city of Acapulco and worked in a bakery there. I went to school in the afternoon and at night. But I didn’t finish, because I came to this country.”
These days, Borja, who just bought his first house in Gastonia, likes calling Gaston County––y Carolina del Norte––home. And you might say folks are flocking to Borja’s chicken-based restaurant, coming in from all over Gaston and Lincoln counties and beyond.
“I like to serve the Mount Holly community,” he said. “I like the people and the weather here. There’s too much snow in New York, for example. But here, it’s similar to Acapulco. I’ve worked all my life. I like owning my own business. This is my dream. I like the restaurant business. This is my future.”
Borja added that he’d like to expand his business. Future plans include a possible second Chicken Bucket in Gastonia.
Of those coming into the United States from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, Borja noted that the situation is a mixed bag.
“There’s a lot of crazy people and a lot of good people,” he observed. “But I don’t like to talk about it.”
He did note that Latino immigrants are now everywhere in America and throughout the world, working in construction, landscaping, roofing and other such jobs.
The next generation
Cinthia Borja just finished up at University Park Creative Arts Elementary in Charlotte. She and her brothers will soon transfer to another school in Gastonia.
“I have a lot of friends in school,” she said. “I’m a quiet person in school. But I’m loud at recess!”
Miss Borja added that she has never experienced discrimination.
“We’re living in a better world today,” she said.
Like her parents, she, too, looks to the future. She is concerned about taking better care of the planet.
“It’s fun exploring places,” she said of Gastonia. “There are lots of places we haven’t been before.”
Mrs. Borja said she most enjoys cooking and preparing the food at the restaurant. And work, as her husband noted, is what life is all about.
“Mucho trabajo!” he said with a smile, meaning “much work,” in Spanish.
Formerly open seven days a week, the restaurant recently adopted a six-day schedule, allowing the Borjas a much-needed day of rest on Mondays.
“That’s our family time mostly,” Miss Borja noted, adding her parents “get to spend time with us kids then.”
Returning to the topic of work, her father talked of the difficulties of immigration.
“Coming to America is not easy,” he said, “not for people who live in my country. But I like this country, because it has many opportunities for everybody.”
His wife agreed.
“Working hard is everything,” she observed.
“But I recommend it,” her husband said of immigration, hard work and pursuing the American dream. “For me, it’s not easy. But if you like to work, you can have a better future for your kids. This is what I’m trying to do. That’s the reason I work all the time. And I see a difference here every day. I try to do the best for my customers. And they take care of me and my business. It’s all about my children. I have a different future than I would have had. And now, so will they.”
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