Sonoma restaurateur takes ‘shot’ at liquor biz with mezcal

Sal Chavez shines as a young Latino leader on the rise.

He’s a trustee on the board of Sonoma Valley Unified School District representing the El Verano Elementary area, the school he attended and the neighborhood where he and his wife Kina now live.

He also sits on the board of La Luz and, along with his parents, opened the bustling Picazo restaurant on Arnold Drive. Now he’s launching a new venture: Licores Latinos, which will market La Luna, a mezcal sourced from Michoacán, where his parents were born.

The 29-year-old wrote an aggressive marketing plan, went to Mexico to find a mezcal-maker, and rallied an impressive list of Sonoma investors who are fueling his tagline – “Latin spirits for people who embrace the Latin culture.”

The first points Chavez makes about his new company is that he wants to be able to provide new career opportunities in Sonoma, and that the company’s mission statement calls for “investing a meaningful percentage of our profits into early education and literacy.”

Perhaps more important, says Chavez: “The market is going to love our mezcal because it’s smooth.”

Mezcal is an agave-based liquor that is similar to, but quite different from, the more popular tequila. Tequila is made from blue agave and is only made in Jalisco. (Similar to champagne, which can only be made in France.) Mezcal is produced elsewhere in Mexico, with different species of agave, and rather than being made in ovens like tequila, it is baked in pits over coals. Mezcal is new in the American market, but is catching on quickly.

Chavez began working on his new venture last January after reading an item on MarketWatch that said, “Mezcal worms its way in the U.S. bar scene.” Working at Picazo, wondering what his entrepreneurial spirit would tackle next, he said he read it and thought, “That’s it!” The idea of an international business always intrigued him, and Spanish was his first language. Mostly he was drawn to the romanticism of returning to his parents’ land.

He came up with the name La Luna, “because I am a Valley of the Moon boy” and there is a legend that in ancient times the Aztecs made mezcal under the moon. So, Chavez says, “When the stars are out, reach for La Luna Mezcal.”

Licores Latinos is also importing Gustoso Aguardiente Rhum and purchased 50 percent of Gran Dovejo Tequila and will be offering the suite of products to liquor retailers and restaurants. Sales will begin in January and he has 200 cases of La Luna ready to ship. During the first couple of years the plan is to buy 10,000 liters of mezcal a month. Chavez would welcome a few more investors at a minimum investment of $10,000.

Chavez has a BA in economics from Sonoma State, but said he has been fortunate that the mentors he has met through his board positions and at Picazo, along with his parents, have given him the confidence and support to attempt a new venture.

His parents, Salvador and Kris, emigrated from Mexico with their young daughter to build a new life for their children. Their two sons were born in the U.S., and they are the longtime property managers of very large estate and small vineyard on Sonoma Mountain where Sal and his siblings were raised. They are now citizens, a ceremony and celebratory dinner in San Francisco that Sal remembers as a very special occasion. “I am so proud of my parents. They really embraced the American lifestyle without giving up their culture,” said Chavez. “They did everything for their kids. They expected a lot of us but not in a way that was burdensome. They empowered us and never let us go in the wrong direction.”

Chavez said his three years on the school board has “refined” him. “I learned about structure. There are so many moving pieces yet everything is organized and so professional.” His advice to parents, especially Latino parents, would be to learn how the school system works, and get to know your children’s teachers. He describes his colleagues at La Luz as “a very powerful board with an abundance of caring about the underserved community. They so genuinely want to help,” he said.

Sal and Kina have a 17-month-old son, the third generation Salvador, and are expecting another baby next May. Chavez, in a very big way, has all the opportunities his parents sacrificed for and so wanted for him.

And now, as is the American way, he and Kina will do the same for their children.