OUR people
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JORGE GUZMÁN
CEO/ FOUNDER
Jorge Guzman was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in and around his father's hotel, restaurant and discotheque businesses. He started small, working the ice cream cart at the age of ten. Pursuing his artistic talents, he attended the Altos de Chavon School of Design. He then spent some time in producing and promoting music concerts. Jorge soon found that he had inherited his father’s true passion for the hospitality industry, which led Jorge to make a move to New York City to gain experience with the finest restaurateurs in the world.
Jorge took on positions in some of the city’s most prestigious restaurants, including Le Cirque, Annisa and One If
By Land, working with industry leaders Danny Meyer, David Friedman and Simon Oren. As he worked, his responsibility grew into leadership roles. During this time Jorge obtained certification from the International Wine Center, and completed the New School’s Restaurant Management course; he realized he wanted to own his own restaurant.
In December 2009, at the age of 26, Jorge Guzman seized an opportunity to partner with respected chef Luis Mota to found Ofrenda Cocina Mexicana, in New York’s West Village. True to the meaning of the word Ofrenda, Jorge led the team, now including Executive Chef Mario Hernandez, to offer his adopted city of New York authentic, home-cooked, traditional Mexican food, paired with fine wines and his own expertly crafted cocktails.
He, Cliff and Chef Mario operate The Black Ant, which opened in the East Village in May 2014. Here, the menu is Contemporary Mexican, with a component of ants, chapulines and other insect ingredients, bringing the international culinary commonplace to New York’s diners. Some of Guzman’s cocktails incorporate insects in ant salt rims, for example—not as a novelty, but as a truly serious culinary element.
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2016 saw J.G. Hospitality expanding boldly, with Temerario in the Chelsea neighborhood, with Chef Mario serving Mexican-style street food, and specialty cocktails. Next door to Temerario, in January 2017, he opened Lamano, a Spanish wine bar serving a small tapas menu. In May 2018, Lamano West Village opened on a quaint tree-lined street serving the same great food as its flagship.
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In addition, Guzman will launch Boutique hotels, a Night Club and Restaurants with locations in Dominican Republic and Mexico, in 2019. With these projects and more to come in NY and LA, Jorge Guzman Hospitality Group will become one of New York’s leading entrepreneurial representatives for the cause of Latin cuisine and mixology. Jorge Guzman Hospitality brands have been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, The New York Times,The Boston Globe, CNN, The Yorker, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Fox News, Popular Science, Travel Channel, Travel + Leisure, Food and Wine, Michelin Guide and GQ Magazine.
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Owners / The People Behind
CUCHARA & CANTÚ
Alejandro Cuchara & Israel Cantú, founding partners of The People Behind, have been responsible of the development, operation and management of different locations in Mexico and the United States.
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They have been working together since 2011, when they took care of the development, positioning, marketing and operation of what is today one of the most emblematic nightclubs in the center of Mexico, Grill Nightclub, in the city of Guanajuato.
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Afterwards, each one in his specialty area, Cuchara in communication and concept, Cantú in marketing and operation; along with a group of shareholders of the city, they created one of the most representative bars of that city: La Madera.
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That is when they decide to join forces and create The People Behind in 2013, when they formalized their work relationship to venture on projects in NY City with their actual business partner, Jorge Guzmán, president and founder of Handshake Group. The have participated actively in the development of five places in NY, among which stands out The Black Ant (2014) and Temerario (2016).
​In 2015, The People Behind closed a commercial agreement with the most important bar developer group in Mexico, Grupo Impulza. Alongside with them, in 2016 they created a new brand called Panic Botanic, which is now operating in the cities of San Pedro, Nuevo León and Torreón, Coahuila.
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They have generated their experience in business administration and operation with their strong roots in marketing and communication. Workaholics and restless by nature, they use the culture and art as an inspiration for creativity, considering that innovation and client experience are an essential part in the project development, where each one capture their professional bases but above else, doing everything with passion and dedication. They analyze each important detail on the client experience and when they find it, they seek to take it to the next level.
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Currently in Mexico they have been working on the development of a new nightclub, and in the United States with the already opened bar: Lamano, with Jorge Guzmán, with whom they started to create solid foundations in the growth and expansion of the businesses they have jointly developed.
chef mario hernandez
Chef / Partner
Mario Hernandez began his cooking education in his grandmother’s kitchen in Cuernavaca Morelos, Mexico. Fascinated by every spice and element of the preparation, he brought this dedication to the unique flavors of Latin food with him when he emigrated to New York City with his father at 16. After starting as a dishwasher, Chef Mario began assisting prep cooks, working in every station of the kitchen; he climbed the ladder to sous chef in 4 short years. His training deepened while cooking side by side with chefs like Ramon Hernandez and Ahktar Nawab, among others. He collaborated closely with Nuevo Latino pioneer Douglas Rodriquez at Patria when it received 3 stars from The New York Times. Soon after, Mario opened La Esquina as executive chef.
When he became Executive Chef of Ofrenda, this passionate devotee of indigenous ingredients and classic Mexican recipes instilled his dishes with culture, love, and flavor, finished with a casually elegant New York touch. With his menu, Chef Mario hoped to introduce Ofrenda’s guests to traditional foods, using ingredients he brought back from his annual trips to small towns in Mexico and South America--while still offering affordable and delicious cuisine that could be enjoyed any night of the week.
In May 2014 at The Black Ant, Chef Mario was thrilled to have found the ideal place to combine his refined technique and ardor for ingredient-driven, regionally-specific Latin food and make it all accessible, and at times adventurous, for everyone. He has become a highly visible advocate for the inclusion of proteins unfamiliar to most Americans—ants and chapulines (grasshoppers) among them. His menu of creative, contemporary Mexican cuisine (Cocina de Autor).
In 2016, Mario and his partners brought his lively and delicious interpretations of the street food he grew up on to the casual and dynamic Temerario, in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Later in 2016, they will bring Lamano, a Spanish tapas and wine bar to a cozy space directly adjacent to Temerario.
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