by Nancy Diaz
Efren Aguilar, wearing his red “Pie Guy” uniform t-shirt covered in flour, runs from one end of the Manhattan Pizzeria to the other. On his way to the front kitchen he’s carrying a tray full of pizza dough and on his way back he is taking empty topping containers.
“I used to hate the kitchen,” Aguilar said, speaking Spanish. “I was raised with the knowledge that it was a woman’s role to cook and to be in the kitchen. Therefore, a man had no business in there, so I always stayed away.”
The 50-year-old Oaxaca native, who studied up to the fourth grade, never thought he would one day work in the kitchen. Now, after serving as general manager of Manhattan Pizzeria for the last 14 years, he is the man that makes it all happen.
“This is the story of every immigrant including myself. When we come to this country we accept whatever job is offered to us. We don’t have much to pick and choose from, as much as we want something different for ourselves,” Aguilar shared.
Aguilar wakes up bright and early at 7 a.m. to get dressed and ready to hit the road from his Los Angeles home to his beachside job on Manhattan Beach Boulevard. After clocking in by 9 a.m., his first task is to close the register from the day before and set up the cash register for the rest of the day.
“I like for everything to be perfect and ready,” Aguilar said. “I was in the Special Forces in Mexico for seven years and that is where I learned my discipline from. I can’t stand lateness, excuses or errors. I like things well done.”
Before opening time, he goes to the back kitchen to check whether there are enough trays with pizza dough ready for the shift, in case he needs to prepare more. Aguilar then goes to the front kitchen sets up all of the containers full of fresh toppings and ingredients, and turns on the ovens. This is the basic routine that needs to be done before opening the doors of the pizzeria, he explained. Once the pizzeria opens the show starts. Orders are yelled across the pizzeria, from the cashier to the oven.
“I like that in here we all work together and help each other out as friends. No one is superior to anyone,” Aguilar said. “We all end up doing the same thing in one way or another. Staying humble obtains more success, that is why I stay humble,”
During the day he can go from cooking, to serving, to supplying the ingredients running low. His daily cooking repertoire includes delicious New York style pizza and cheese raviolis with meatballs. Efren also bakes the cheesecake, brownies, and cookies once a week or as they are needed.
As his shift comes to an end, Aguilar makes sure everything is set up and ready for his co-workers coming in for the closing shift. Before clocking out at 5 p.m. he packs up his backpack and gets ready for his long way back home to Antonia, his wife of 27 years and his two sons Marco Antonio, 18, and Cristian, 16.
“When I bought the pizzeria he was the one who taught me how to run the business,” said Manhattan Pizzeria owner Bobby Eskowits, who has worked alongside Aguilar since he bought the business 11 years ago. “He is the only one in here that knows all of the recipes for everything. He knows how to run the show without me.”
