USA. Manuel Soto, a long-time concession partner at Los Angeles International Airport has announced his retirement, leaving his business in the hands of family associates. He also offered advice for minority entrepreneurs in the airport retail business.
He led the Soto & Sanchez family business since the opening of its first store, I Love LA, in 1994. It began as a partnership with his brother, Steve, and two sisters, Debbie Seanez and Patricia Lee and his uncle Joe Sanchez.
His siblings will continue to operate the business – which is is 100% Hispanic and 51% women-owned – and his adult children have now embraced leadership roles. His children Manuel IV, Louie, Oscar, John Soto and Priscilla Baricuatro also have started their own airport concessions company, AIR and Skyline Concessions, which are both Airport Certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (ACDBEs).
Today, the company operates I Love LA (Terminals 1 and 5), Treat Me Sweet (Terminal 1 and Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), See’s Candies (TBIT) and Sol Surf (Terminal 1).
Soto offered advice to his children and others on starting out as an ACDBE partner.
“Be supportive and as helpful as possible,” he said. “Be a good partner and you will be kept in mind for future opportunities. And don’t give up, learn from your losses. Treat everyone with respect and you get respected.
“We wish Manuel well as he begins his much-deserved retirement,” said Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield General Manager, LAX Maral Matossian. “Soto & Sanchez is a great example of not only a family-owned business but one that showcases diversity and a woman-owned business. Manuel is an excellent mentor for young entrepreneurs and his children.”
Manuel and his siblings grew up in a retail family with their parents, Manuel and Dolores, and uncle Joe Sanchez, running a grocery store (La Quebradita Market) in Los Angeles. Manuel worked at the store while growing up.
In 1992 he was approached to open an airport retail location and became certified as an ACDBE operator for his first store.
“I’m very fortunate to AMAC and the ACDBE programme because it would be very difficult to get into airports on your own,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to do business at an airport without it. It is wonderful for companies like URW to now offer opportunities for small businesses to bid and get a space.”
Over its 28 years, Soto & Sanchez has also partnered with Pacific Gateway Concessions where they opened 65 locations at 12 airports across the country. Soto later sold to a prime operator in 2019 to refocus on his Los Angeles Airport spaces.
