Meet Chris & Danny Paz | Danny – Mr. Mucho Chris – Mr. Mas

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris & Danny Paz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris & Danny, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind our restaurant’s success has been our family oriented uprising and  commitment.  Our goal is to be fully functional for the next 40 years while providing an excellent dining experience and converting quality ingredients into great Authentic Mexican food.  If you grew up in the area for sure, you came in at some point in time with a grandparent or a Tio (uncle) that loved coming in for a Margarita and a taco & enchilada combination plate. 


As part of our newer ways of doing business we have improved our interaction with our customers, we’ve been able to create and make adjustments to a 40 year old menu that excites and satisfies while maintaining Chef Jaime Gonzalez’s training from previous chefs here at Mucho Mas.

Additionally, our focus on building strong ties with the local community and fundraising events such as our Autism Awareness Month fundraiser in April or our September Childhood Cancer Awareness fundraiser (Mucho Mas donates $1 for every fajita sold in that month to a Charity of our choice) we have fostered a loyal customer base and generations of great people from the surrounding community.

Our dedicated team, who is  passionate about excellent service and family oriented mindset creates a warm and welcoming atmosphere from the moment you sit at the table and are brought your complimentary chips and salsa. We have been fortunate to have a loyal staff for many years, even after being closed for 2 years 6 months and 2 weeks to be exact (but who’s counting)!  The fire that was a couple weeks prior to covid shut down.  After that horrific journey we were able to have some of our previous staff come back into full force, like Pato (Pascual Garcia) who has been part of the Mucho Mas family of servers for over 30 years. 

The future of Mucho Mas has a lot to do with our ability to innovate and adapt to the new ways of doing business.  Reopening a restaurant after being shut down for 2 1/2 years has been a challenge and a constant uphill battle, but it has also kept our customers engaged, our team on their toes and our brand relevant.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What was once a Jack in the Box in the 60’s, transformed into a Micelis Italian restaurant in the 70’s and in the 80’s evolved into the Mucho Mas Mexican restaurant it is now.  

Hector Paz Sr began working as Alfonso Luceros accountant and a business relation which evolved and later turned into Alfonso being more of a mentor and father figure for Hector after working together for 20 years.  In the early 80’s Alfonso offered Hector the opportunity to manage his restaurant Mucho Mas.  Hector saw the opportunity to learn from Alfonso and assist in the managing of the business.  Alfonso sadly passed away in the late 90’s leaving a business and a team he loved. His son Alfonso Michael Lucero inherited the business and everything his dad worked for.  Michael and Hector became so close, that Michael called Hector his brother and best friend. Michael and Hector worked together until Hector’s passing in 2007.  

Prior to our father (Hector) passing, Daniel had already been taken under his wing and had been working side by side learning the ins and outs.  In 2007 When our world gets flipped upside down and our dad passes away, Daniel is asked by Michael to take over the Management of Mucho Mas.  The task to fill our fathers shoes was not easy and we knew a long road was still ahead. Danny managed the restaurant with the team that Dad had left in place.  Danny was tossed in the Lions den and made it work.  Chris would come in on the weekends that he was available but presence was minimal at the time. 

Michael one day sat with both Chris & Danny and asked if we would be interested in working together to build, better and possibly grow Mucho Mas.  The opportunity was there for us to work together and possibly expand the business so we decided to give it a shot.  Michael was a referee or mediator at the beginning of Chris and Danny working together.  Danny continued with his idea of working with what we had and not make other changes and Chris wanted to come in guns blazing and make changes that maybe the business was not ready for.  We managed to learn to work together and learn to listen to our customers and continue the legacy with our unique vision and expertise.  

We loved what we were doing, running a long standing staple in the community and giving our customers what they wanted. Dad had put in his work and we needed to keep that going.  Mike had given us the opportunity to work together and liberty to make adjustments as needed.  In 2016 Alfonso Michael Lucero passed away and we were unsure of what the future of Mucho Mas was going to be.  Little did we know it was all part of the plan that Mike had for our future.  Mike’s beloved wife Carmen and Daughter Joy decided to sell us (Chris and Danny) the business.  The Paz Family after 30 plus years of managing Mucho Mas Restaurant were given the chance to finally make it theirs.  The dream that Hector had for his family had finally become a reality.

The American dream had taken a turn in the right direction. Chris and Danny were working on dads dream of running the restaurant until February 29,2020 when a fire tore through the roof and upper floor of the two-story Mucho Mas restaurant.  The fire  was an exterior fire started by a malfunction on the Water Heater located on the second story.

The days to come were a blur, the fire, La County Covid shelter in place. We couldn’t get an insurance representative to come see us, couldn’t get a contractor because funds were not available. Until we finally set up a team of contractors and were able to meet with the insurance company representative.  Estimated time for the project to be completed is approximately 8 months, we knew it could be more. In a blink of an eye, it went to 2 1⁄2 years. Our nightmare gets worse, when we get told there is enough coverage for everything. They start peeling the onion and as they get deeper in, tiers start rolling, We could not find the best part of the onion to be able to get back to making our delicious salsa. The insurance decided to not pay adjustments required by code. We kept our heads up high and worked until we had no other solution but to work with our home equity. Our goal was to open doors as soon as possible and we did it.

The time finally came and we were given the final OK to open. The ink on the stamp hadn’t dried.  We reached out to old staff and some were able to come back like Pato who had been with us for the past 30 years and helped out during construction.  Chef Jaime Gonzalez was tasked to create a new team while reopening and putting his expertise into play to recreate the old menu he had once learned from previous Chefs that had passed down the recipes. 

We are thrilled to announce that we are almost two years from the date of reopening our doors! While the road ahead may be challenging, we are committed to serving our customers and being a part of this community for the next forty years and beyond.  We are back and here to stay.  We can truly consider this a life long lesson filled with countless drops of blood, sweat and tears. Family always sticks together and together we have no limits. When one of us is at 20% the other has to be at 80% and that has helped us motivate each other to become unstoppable. 

We have been able to maintain and uphold our authentic Mexican food while adding new items like our newer dishes & Cocktails:

La Ciota – an upbeat twist on the classic Torta Mexicana – Grilled Chicken, lettuce, cheese and a Chipotle Aioli served on a Ciabatta Bread.  

Incendio – A never before seen Mexican new favorite, Grilled Chicken, Penne Pasta and our Fiery Diabla Sauce dance with melted cheese and topped off with Cilantro. 

Camarones Costa Azul : The one and only all time favorite that is only prepared like we do here at Mucho Mas.  Bacon wrapped Butterfly shrimp that wraps around crab meat and cheese. 

Cocktails:

Only place to have 20 different flavors to choose from for your Margarita.

Most popular : Guava , Passion Fruit , Black Cherry , Dragon Fruit, Jamaica, Tamarindo.

El Vuelo – Mucho Mas margarita Flight of which we have 20 different flavors to choose from and you get 4 flavored mini margaritas.

El Coyote: Brought a mix of Ilegal Mezcal crafted in the villages of Oaxaca, Orange Liquer, sweet and sour served with a Chamoy and Tajin rim. 

And more items to come the rest of the year.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If someone was from out of town we would start by eating at Mucho Mas Restaurant first day. Then take a ride to Santa Monica pier.
Second Day head out to Disneyland
Third day Go to Santa Barbara
Fourth Day Universal Studios
Fifth day Drive up and down PCH
Sixth day probably museum day
Last day relax and go back to Mucho Mas to finish off with best flavored margaritas around and great authentic Mexican food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude to the two of the most important people in our lives—our parents. From a young age, you both instilled in us the importance of hard work, integrity, and perseverance. You taught us that success comes from dedication and always giving our best effort, no matter the challenge!

We have been put to challenges never thought of the past couple years during our reconstruction faze after the fire to reopening a restaurant that had been closed for too long. We had to change our view on our situation and we were reminded of the countless nights watching you both balance work and family, showing us that hard work is not just about the hours you put in, but the passion and commitment you bring and brought to everything you did for us as a family and the respect you have earned.

We remember seeing dad come home for dinner and making sure we all ate at the dinner table every chance we had and watching the news before heading back to the restaurant. Making sure that we were at home on Sunday afternoon cause it was time for him to share with us and have a carne asada with at least another 20 family members. We also had that moment or couple moments when we had to go to the restaurant (second home) to talk to dad about difficult situations in life because he was dedicated to making sure his presence was visible at the restaurant any time possible. Meanwhile the real pillar of the family was managing the house and making sure that we never struggled with anything. Even after having genius ideas of studying abroad the support was endless. Mom has always been a mind reader and behind the scenes type of gal, we could never get anything past her and we knew that she was judge and jury with anything we had going on.

Those moments left a lasting impression on us and have helped us both understand that it wasn’t easy getting to where you got and keeping the family unity is one of the most important things that we could have during difficult times.

We are so grateful for the sacrifices you made and the love you always showed or at times didn’t show but we knew it was their. Your unwavering support has been and always will be our foundation, and we couldn’t have achieved what we have without you. Your lessons continue to guide us every day. We strive to emulate your work ethic and values in everything we do, hoping to make you as proud of us as we are of you.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for everything. We are forever grateful for your love, guidance, and the incredible work ethic you’ve instilled in us. We love you more than words can express. We can only hope to instill in our children half of what you have instilled in us.

Website: https://Www.muchomas.us

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Yelp: https://yelp.to/3X34M6kHea