On The Record With ... Mario Martinez

When Mario Martinez came to the United States, his first job washing dishes paid him $135 a week. He worked seven days a week for 12 hours a day at the job, he said.

Today, Martinez is the owner of Dockers Restaurant in Fox Lake and is proud to be part of the community he and his family now call home.

“I truly believe that we are living the American dream,” Martinez said.

Martinez also has made an effort to give back to the community he now calls home. Along with a group of other residents, Martinez helped to organize Dockers Duffers.

Each summer, the group gathers for a charity golf outing. The proceeds from the event are donated to the Fox Lake Shop-With-A-Cop program, which gives underprivlidged children the opportunity to go on a Christmas shopping spree with a local police officer.

This year’s Shop-With-A-Cop event took place Dec. 1.

Martinez recently went on the record with Lake County Journal reporter Colin Selbo to discuss what led him to the restaurant business and the Shop-With-A-Cop program.

Selbo: When did you come to the United States?
Martinez: I came to the United States in 1982.

Selbo: When you came here, did you have to leave family in Mexico?
Martinez: My whole family was down there. My brother came before me. He was the one that gave me a hand to get to the United States. Other than that, the whole family was down there. It was a tough move for us, especially being a 16-year-old.

Selbo: Did you stay in touch with your family?
Martinez: Back then we used to write letters back and forth. It would take a month or a month and a half to get back and forth. There were no phones in my hometown. I came from a very, very small village.

Selbo: What led you to come to the United States?
Martinez: Better opportunity. My first job was as a dish-washer at Niko's Restaurant in Bridgeview. I worked there for three years and then I moved to Fox Lake. I started to work at Dino's Den [in Fox Lake]. I worked there for about 10 years or so. And then I started [out] on my own and took over Dockers in 1996.

Selbo: What led you to want to become an owner of a restaurant?
Martinez: It was the only thing that I knew back then, and I thought it was a good opportunity for me. I thought that I could do it.

Selbo: Especially early on, what were some of the challenges of owning a restaurant?
Martinez: There was a lot. The first two years I was nervous. But then I met so many people, so many great customers, that it kept me going ... I met nothing but great people. We get the best customers.

Selbo: What led you to open Dockers North in Antioch?
Martinez: [The] manager that we used to have [at the Fox Lake Dockers] is a great, great person. His name is Marcos Martinez. He was our manager for 10 years. We decided to open Dockers North to give him the opportunity to become a partner [in the business]. And he's doing a great job.

Selbo: What advice would you give a new restaurant owner?
Martinez: My advice to any new restaurant owner [would be] if they want to open a restaurant they have to be there. ... Say hello to your customers. That's the best recipe in this business. ... Customers want to see the owner when they go to a place. They want to be acknowledged that they are there at the business.

Selbo: How many hours a day do you spend at Dockers?
Martinez: No less than 12 hours a day.

Selbo: That doesn't leave time for much else.
Martinez: But once you are into this business you really enjoy it. You really enjoy being there. I enjoy it. I like it. ... I knew that in this business there were long hours. It was nothing new to me.

Selbo: How did you get involved with the Shop-With-A-Cop program in Fox Lake?
Martinez: I believe this is our sixth or seventh year. A group of guys, we meet here and we decided to go play golf. [Afterward], we came back here for dinner. We put this money together to go play and come and eat, and we had money left over. ... So, we decided to make a donation to the Fox Lake Police Department for any of their needs. Our first year we raised $1,000. And from there, [we raised] $7,000, to $11,000 to $16,000 to $19,000 [to] $22,000. ... We give the money to the police department. They get all of the principals at schools in the area [to] pick the kids who most need it, and we take them to Walmart. ... It's all up to the kids what they want to buy. There is nothing that makes me more happy than to be a part of this community.

Selbo: What kind of reaction do you see from the kids who participate in Shop-With-A-Cop?
Martinez: There are no words to describe the reaction from those kids. We've taken kids in wheelchairs. Just to see the smile on their face is what makes me and my brother [Marciano Martinez] continue with this program. To me, it's a wonderful, wonderful program. ... We thank the Fox Lake Police Department for believing in our program. Our chief, Mike Behan, is a wonderful man. ... I wish we could do more.

Martinez lowdown

Who he is: Mario Martinez, owner of Dockers Restaurant in Fox Lake
Family: Wife, Christina; and three children, Mario, Marco and Jose
Favorite move: "Casino"
What he would order on the Dockers menu if he could only get one item: Prime rib
Best place to get a meal in Fox Lake other than Dockers: El Puerto Mexican Restaurant