Twenty years ago, Sandra Jaquez opened Il Sole, a homestyle Italian restaurant that serves everything from Dominican pizza to a fan-favorite that has never left the menu: penne alla vodka. But while Sandra grew up going to her uncle’s restaurant in Queens, she never saw herself in the restaurant industry. 

Sandra was building a career in finance and starting a family of her own, but after having twins, she wanted to spend more time with her family and taking care of the local community. Sandra planned to do this by opening her own restaurant – choosing a location that was only four blocks from where she was born.

Opening Il Sole took a leap of faith as she didn’t know much about the industry, but Sandra and her family quickly got up to speed. She got help from the staff who used to work at her uncle’s restaurant, read books about restaurants and contracting, and even went to bartending school. 

Fast forward 16 years, and Sandra opened her second restaurant – Sa’Tacos – which happens to be right next door to Il Sole. 

Reaching more diners with Grubhub

With the help of Grubhub, Il Sole and Sa’Tacos have been able to reach more customers in Sandra’s local community and beyond. These deliveries are critical for restaurant owners like Sandra to maintain orders on the days when the brick-and-mortars don’t receive a lot of foot traffic. 

While it was important to me to serve the community I grew up in, it’s really exciting to expand our reach and watch people from other neighborhoods become repeat customers. I am proud to say that we are now covering a good delivery 30-40 block radius.

Sandra Jaquez, Owner of Il Sole and Sa’Tacos

From a volume standpoint, Sandra used to do one or two deliveries a day, but is now regularly delivering 20-30 orders daily.  

“While it was important to me to serve the community I grew up in, it’s really exciting to expand our reach and watch people from other neighborhoods become repeat customers,” Sandra said. “I am proud to say that we are now covering a good delivery 30-40 block radius.”

Beyond increasing order volume, Grubhub also supports Il Sole and Sa’Tacos’ marketing strategy. Grubhub has done everything from featuring food photography on her menu  – which was especially helpful when Sandra was revamping her website – to running promotions that help get new customers ordering. This assistance has allowed Sandra to stay top of mind for diners who are looking for Italian and Mexican cuisine and compete with larger restaurant chains that have bigger budgets for advertising.

Are you a restaurant owner looking to gain more customers and grow your business? Partner with Grubhub today to help your restaurant reach more customers like Il Sole and Sa’Tacos!