Armando Silva was an average college student, who worked two jobs and went to school at the same time. He managed to handle it all through his positive spirit. Involved in food hospitality as a manager for more than a decade, Silva is now ready for his new managerial position at Mooyah Burgers, which has opened its doors on the Westside of El Paso.

“Growing up, my grandfather was my father figure and he would always tell me, ‘always reach for the stars, always strive for better wherever you work at,’” Silva said.

Silva had to work two jobs to support his family and at the same time pursue his degree. At age 19, he started off delivering pizzas at Pizza Hut and later became the restaurant’s manager.

“I love dealing with people, the couple places I worked at I self-motivated myself to want to be higher, not to just be the average person, just to go in there and get a pay check,” Silva said. “I wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives. I’ve always believed in positive energy, high morale, team work.”

Silva hoped for a better future for himself and his family. He set aside his priorities and spoke with professors in school who motivated him to keep on with his journey.

After working as a manager for Whataburger and Fiesta Lanes, and a Dual department manager, Silva ran across a different opportunity, he saw a Craigslist posting for a manager position for the new burger joint, Mooyah’s Burgers.

Mooyah’s Burgers is based out of the Dallas and Fort Worth area, with one brand-new location located at 7500 N. Mesa St.

“I was excited, I know good things were going to come and it’s showing,” Silva said. “I mean I haven’t had one person step out of Mooyah unsatisfied. I mean the food speaks for itself.”

As the manager of El Paso’s new burger joint, Silva will continue that team work and positive mindset for his employees. His goal is to get his employees in the mindset of wanting to go that extra mile with a customer in order to  make a difference.

“I don’t look at it as just a burger joint,” Silva said. “I want to make sure when that customer leaves, I want to make sure that they are going to come back and that they enjoy their experience.”

Mooyah’s employees welcome their guests with a big, “Hi Welcome to Mooyah!” Families and college students order burgers of their choice with their drink or shakes, and get to watch their order being made while they wait. The menu has affordable prizes and a variety of ingredients. The fries are freshly cut and baked every day, hamburger buns are also made in house.

“Our motto is to deliver the best burger, fries and shakes ever and to have fun doing it.” Silva said.

Samantha Ortega, junior marketing major, said she enjoys how Mooyah’s burgers allows for their customers to replace their drinks with a shake without a cost, and that it’s good for El Paso to have a unique place like this in town.

 “We need to have a variety of restaurants of all kinds, El Paso needs to expand,” Ortega said.

Alexandria Viescas, senior multimedia journalism major, said she also enjoyed their shakes.

“I thought it was unique that it had several unique sauces that you could add to your burger,” Viescas said. “The shakes were different from just the basics.”

Mooyah’s Burgers is looking to open between five to six locations in the El Paso and Las Cruces region. Silva’s next step as manager is to oversee all of those locations, become regional manager and perhaps a franchise owner.

“I want to be that role model for people. If I end up moving on to a higher position where I can’t really deal with people face to face anymore, I want them to feel that they can always look up to me,” Silva said.

Kimberly Valle may be reached at [email protected].