How Richard Sandoval Hospitality Puts The ‘Bee’ In Sustainability

Tennis was Richard Sandoval’s first love. He played professionally on the satellite circuit for several years after college, including against the likes of Sampras and Agassi. Eventually, though, he realized he “had to find a career because I was not going to make money on the circuit,” Sandoval recounts.

“I either had to go teach tennis or find another career … and I don't have the patience to be on a tennis court five hours a day, feeding balls to someone.”

“So, I said to myself, ‘Richard, you’ve got to find something more engaging.’ Obviously, as a tennis player, you get that adrenaline rush from the intense pressure. So, I needed something more to activate my system. I said, ‘Well, my father owns restaurants [in Acapulco]. I should go to culinary school.’”

After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America’s New York City campus, he worked for his father for a few years in Mexico, then moved back to New York to start his restaurant.