It’s good to be King if you’re the King of all Guacamole’s Cafe & Bakery in Ft. Myers, Florida. Husband and wife owners Anniel and Marycruz Gonzales have amassed a huge following of guac seekers since they started their business at a local farmer’s market in 2008. Today, they can be found selling their homemade guacamole, salsa, ceviche, pico de gallo, and conch salads at over 60 farmer’s markets weekly spanning Miami to Jacksonville. That’s a whopping 355 miles one way.
If you’re one of their 179,000 followers on Instagram, you’ve seen Marycruz behind a massive 40-qt bowl mashing up 200-250 avocados, 30 chopped tomatoes, 12 bunches of cilantro, as well as onions, lime juice, and spices to make their famous guacamole. For the spicy version, they add jalapenos. She and Anniel, along with her dad, their two oldest children, and 27 employees can be found making their homemade delights on site at farmer’s markets across Florida.
“I’m Cuban, raised in the U.S., and my wife was born in New York with a Dominican background, so we also make Cuban sandwiches and empanadas,” said Anniel Gonzalez. These items are made at their brick-and-mortar shop where there’s a steady stream of DoorDash and Uber Eats drivers, along with customer pickups.
Blend Your Way to Better Guacamole
So, what’s their secret? “I think the difference is that we put our cilantro and red onions in a blender,” said Marycruz Gonzalez. “We want everyone to enjoy it, and some people don’t like to feel the pieces of onion or taste the ‘soapy’ flavor of the cilantro when they take a bite,” she added.
King of all Guacamole’s also uses the freshest ingredients, and their conch meat is flown in from the Bahamas.
Beyond the recipes, King of all Guacamole’s is serving up memories along with Southern hospitality, and perhaps that contributes to their huge following. “We have a lot of snowbirds who come to Florida every year to escape the cold. They want something tropical, so they come to the farmer’s market, and we love to see them,” said Marycruz. “I love making people happy.”
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
Marycruz: “My mother owned a little bakery in the Dominican Republic, so I grew up watching her cook; it was her passion.”
What was the biggest business challenge you overcame?
Anniel: “For us, it has been the logistics of running a business. Every day, we have to make sure everything is just right before we head out. We want to make sure we don’t have any mishaps in front of the customers.”
What Cambro products help make your business work?
Marycruz: “We use the 40 qt clear pebbled bowls to mash our 250 avocados and mix in the other ingredients in the smaller pebbled bowls. I think the size of the 40 qt bowl is what got the attention of people on Instagram. We also use Cambro’s 22 qt Classic CamRounds to store our fresh-squeezed lime juice, and another to marinate our shrimp. For seasonings, we use the 4 qt CamRounds. They are all easy to clean and the lids help everything stay fresher longer. You can also see the ingredients from every point of view.”
What’s the coolest thing to happen to your business?
Marycruz: “Our customers love to take pictures of the 40 qt bowl, and some want to try and smash the avocados like I do, but it’s not easy. So, they laugh when they try to do it.”
Anniel: “The most satisfying thing about the business has been the repeat customers over the years. They look for us and say, ‘We only come to the market to get your products.’ That’s the best feeling ever.”
Author: Cynthia Connally is the Digital Communications Manager at Cambro.
