CHICAGO \u2014 When diners at Matilda, a Mexican-Peruvian restaurant in River North, are presented with what appears to be a whole avocado resting neatly on a plate, some pause, unsure of what they are seeing. The fruit looks intact, untouched. Moments later, a server breaks it open table side, revealing a smoky, reimagined guacamole beneath its charred exterior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dish is theatrical and unexpected. For Exodo Hospitality, the Latino-owned restaurant group behind Matilda and several other Chicago concepts, it is also deliberate. Food, one group founder said, is not just about taste. It is about storytelling, identity and creating spaces where Latino culture is treated with care and seriousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe take very serious each of the plates,\u201d said Chef Jos\u00e9 Luis Ch\u00e1vez, one of Exodo Hospitality\u2019s chef co-founders. \u201cThere has to be a storytelling… what we want to show to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ch\u00e1vez is a Venezuelan-born, Peruvian-trained chef whose career has moved across borders and kitchens, from South America to New York and now Chicago. He is also a co-founder of Mission Ceviche in New York City and has received recognition from the Michelin Guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Chicago, he helped launch Exodo Hospitality alongside two partners, Daniel Brice\u00f1o who is the current CEO, and Adolfo Gos\u00e1lvez, current COO. Ch\u00e1vez is the Chef co-founder and culinary leader within Exodo Hospitality Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea for Exodo emerged not from a formal business plan, Ch\u00e1vez said, but from conversations about opportunity and ambition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs an entrepreneur, we have this kind of feeling, you\u2019re always looking for something,\u201d he said. \u201cYou want to take your career to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Ch\u00e1vez, that meant building restaurants that reflect the complexity of Latino identity, shaped by migration, family history and cultural exchange. Born and raised in Venezuela to a Colombian mother and a Peruvian father, he grew up surrounded by multiple traditions before moving to Peru in his early 20s to study and work in restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI found literally the country that I was missing,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said. \u201cI was missing the culture. I was missing my beautiful family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He spent years in Peru, traveling throughout the country and learning its culinary traditions, an experience that would later inform his work in the United States. When he arrived in American kitchens, he encountered an industry that was demanding and often difficult to navigate, particularly for immigrant cooks learning new systems, measurements and expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those early experiences now shape how Exodo Hospitality operates. The group\u2019s restaurants \u2014 which include Kayao, Ayayay, Akiro, Matilda and the bar Clandestino \u2014 blend Peruvian roots with Mexican influences, presenting dishes that feel familiar without being predictable. Chicago, Ch\u00e1vez said, offered the right environment for that approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see it as a gap,\u201d he said of the city\u2019s food scene. \u201cI see more like opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chicago diners, he said, are open to experimentation and new cultural experiences. \u201cPeople appreciate new cultures,\u201d said Ch\u00e1vez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind Exodo\u2019s creativity is a methodical process. When developing Matilda, Ch\u00e1vez said the team studied dining trends and found that, for example, guacamole consistently ranked among the most popular Mexican dishes in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather than avoiding a familiar dish, Ch\u00e1vez treated guacamole as an opportunity to rethink how tradition could still surprise. In a city crowded with versions of the same staple, he wanted to find a way to honor what diners already loved while offering something unexpected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do we create a guacamole that\u2019s different from the thousands we have around?\u201d said Ch\u00e1vez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer became a charred avocado dish designed to arrive at the table looking whole and untouched, only to be cracked open moments later. The presentation is deliberate and it reflects a broader approach that guides all Exodo Hospitality\u2019s restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That philosophy extends beyond the plate. Across its Chicago operations, Exodo Hospitality employs 180 people, supporting hundreds of families. Many of those workers come from Latino communities, a reality Ch\u00e1vez views as foundational rather than incidental to the business. He has watched how that connection shows up not just in the kitchen, but in the dining room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur community is Latino,\u201d Ch\u00e1vez said, describing moments when diners bring friends unfamiliar with the cuisine and take pride in guiding them through dishes and stories. \u201cThey become proud to show the roots, to talk about the food, the family, the identity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The kitchens themselves also function as spaces of mentorship, shaped by Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s own experience navigating professional kitchens in a new country. Early in his career, he said, adapting to unfamiliar systems and expectations required support from others, a lesson that now informs how he leads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen you start growing, and you start getting better positions, that\u2019s what I try to apply,\u201d he said. \u201cBe close to them. Understand them. Support them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the cooks working alongside him today have been with him for more than a decade, said Ch\u00e1vez. Others have gone on to lead kitchens of their own, an outcome he sees as part of the responsibility that comes with leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor me, mentorship is not expecting anything back,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a nature of culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Underlying Exodo Hospitality\u2019s approach is a belief that representation carries obligation. Ch\u00e1vez argues that showcasing Latino culture in cities like Chicago and New York requires consistency and high standards, not shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you want to represent Latino culture in cities like New York and Chicago, you have to be the best,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no way around that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quality, he added, is not optional. \u201cFor us, to provide the best is not an option.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked why diners should visit an Exodo Hospitality restaurant, Ch\u00e1vez returned to the essentials, describing spaces designed to feel welcoming while encouraging exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a place where you can find delicious food, delicious environment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have the opportunity to explore something different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Chicago\u2019s Latino and foody community, Exodo\u2019s restaurants aim to offer more than a meal. Their mission is to “honor roots, traditions, and diversity\u2014uniting people through unforgettable food, drink, and hospitality.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo Credit: Matilda.Chicago Instagram Page<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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