Popular radio show host gives backpacks to Lansing school kids, while La Soga gives breakfast to 150 visitors
by Melanie Jongsma
LANSING, Ill. (August 22, 2019) – “The restaurant life is exciting,” reflects Emiliano Muñoz, as though he were a seasoned proprietor rather than a sophomore at TF South. Emiliano’s family owns and runs La Soga, the Mexican restaurant at 19267 Burnham Avenue in Lansing, so he has a lot of experience in the kitchen and at tables. But today was special.
La Soga was chosen by Radio La Que Buena (FM105.1) to host a promotion with their popular radio host “El Primo Rafa” (“Cousin Rafa”). Rafa was onsite Thursday morning—recording announcements, posting live video on his Facebook page, and posing for photos with customers.
The Delgado family and Demecio Loera were first in line, arriving before 6:00am. Being in the right place at the right time, they were included in one of Primo Rafa’s videos:
Radio La Que Buena has been giving away backpacks at events like this all summer long, about two events each week, mostly in the city of Chicago. Lansing resident Marisol Gaeta is the Activation Supervisor for the program, so when the station decided to expand its reach, she scouted for places in her hometown. La Soga had high reviews, and the Muñoz family was eager to work with the crew to accommodate the event, so they were chosen.
Delores Rivera from Lansing’s Building Department is a regular customer at La Soga, and Martha Muñoz reached out to her to make sure the event did not require any special permitting or other permissions. Rivera’s main suggestion was for the Muñoz family to make the plaza owner and neighboring businesses aware of the event, just to ensure no one would be inconvenienced.
Lansing schools had started classes earlier in the week, so the crowd at La Soga grew as parents stopped by with their kids on the way to school. Many of the Thursday-morning patrons were already familiar with La Soga, but the advertisements on La Que Buena 105.1 leading up to the event drew in new customers as well.
Throughout the event, Gilberto Muñoz worked quickly and carefully to ensure there was enough breakfast for everyone:
Around 7:30am, Primo Rafa began announcing raffle winners, with the help of Ximena Muñoz, the youngest member of the Muñoz family:
Primo Rafa understands that advertising on the radio is too expensive for many small businesses, so he enjoys doing promotions like this. The event gave him an opportunity to give away 80 backpacks for school kids, and by hosting it at La Soga, he gave the Muñoz family an opportunity to enjoy two hours of publicity for the cost of some free breakfasts. The food itself is more convincing than a paid advertisement would be, and now that people are familiar with the location, they are more likely to return.
Martha Muñoz, who had been nervous about serving an unknown number of people two hours before the restaurant normally opens, was both exhausted and enthusiastic by the end of the morning. She’s already looking forward to the restaurant’s next big event—they will be a vendor at Autumn Fest 2019, for all three days, and the Burnham Avenue location will remain open during that time as well. Autumn Fest is October 11, 12, and 13 at Fox Pointe (18138 Henry Street).
Taqueria La Soga is located at 19267 Burnham Avenue in Lansing.
Related:
- Lansing’s La Soga chosen by Univision to host Desayuno con El Primo Rafa
- Hungry for Hispanic cuisine? (February 2019 article)
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