Faces of Diversity Awards

This award honors champions of diversity and inclusion and restaurateurs who have achieved their American Dream. Congratulations to our 2018 state winners:

​Juan Martinez, Don Juan Mex Grille, started working in hospitality at the age of 10 selling popcorn and cotton candy to assist his family and save for his own “luxuries.” Over seven months of peddling popcorn, he had saved enough to buy swimming trunks. His biggest dream as a kid in the Dominican Republic was to come to the United States. At the age of 16, he turned his dream into his reality. He came with $5, a small bag, and the determination to make a better life for himself. Today, he owns and operates four restaurants in the Lehigh Valley, is a graduate of the prestigious Walt Disney Leadership and Hospitality Program, an adjunct professor at the Northampton Community College for Business and Industry, and helps run the Nicole Reppert Foundation, which helps underprivileged children have a brighter future through education and providing for their basic needs. The restaurant industry set Juan on the path of finding a better life in the U.S., a path where he has found personal and professional success and provides him with the opportunity to help others achieve their dreams. Every year, Juan and his wife return to the Dominican Republic to provide 50-70 families back in the sugar cane fields with food and supplies to meet their basic needs.

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Atanasio "Nacho" Reyes' path in the restaurant industry illustrates the ladders of opportunity the industry provides. He started as a dishwasher at Mad 61 in New York City, building in position in responsibility through hard work and dedication and chipping away at achieving his American Dream. In 2001, he and his wife, Rebakah Meixell, took a chance and opened Reba & Pancho’s in Lewisburg, Pa.Nacho's family experienced some hardships in Mexico so he left for the United States to make a better life for himself while pursuing his passion for cooking. He arrived with little money and little knowledge of English but he had his work ethic to make up for it. Through shear hard work and will power, he climbed his way up the ladder of opportunity that the restaurant industry provides.Nacho’s is from Puebla, Mexico and his culture deeply influences how his restaurants engages with his community. It drives him to celebrate the Power of the Table (nourishment and engaging with others). Anticipating what a customer needs and bringing a smile to their face with his food makes Nacho feel that he is fulfilling his purpose. The restaurant’s staff are like family, and each member contributes to the overall success of the restaurant. For the past four years, Reba & Pancho’s has earned the PRLA’s Excellence in Food Safety Award for exceeding food safety and sanitation standards.​

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Erin Zwiercan's family has been in the corner pub business in Philadelphia for most of her life. She didn't expect to follow suit but she did. In the early 2000s, she and her father were looking for a neighborhood business to purchase but couldn't find the right place. Through a family friend, she learned that the Philadelphia International Airport was seeking certified minority businesses in concessions and retail. In 2002, she opened Jack Duggan's Irish Pub in Terminal E, which has grown into a full-service restaurant. In 2016, Jack Duggan's was selected to receive the Airport Minority Advisory Council's (AMAC) Strategic Partner Award, which honors an AMAC corporation that has demonstrated diversity inclusion within its corporate structure of procurement and employment.

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