Presenting 2024 Hotelie Hall of Fame Story - Rising Star: Dan Leyva '14
An excerpt from Dan's story...
Dan Leyva, a 2021 Forbes 30 Under 30 Food & Drink Honoree, is the Founder and CEO of Taco Azul, a new Mexican restaurant group in New England. Taco Azul represents Leyva’s latest entrepreneurial venture, but his dedication to cooking, eating, restaurants, service, and hospitality, has been a constant throughout his life.
A native of Santa Rosa, California, Dan is the eldest of three siblings, born to proud immigrant parents from Mexico. He was the first member of his family to graduate from high school and the first to attend and graduate from college. Dan constantly notes that the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University changed his life in ways he could never have imagined.
When Dan was 13 years old, he fibbed about his age and applied for a job at Kentucky Fried Chicken so he could earn money to go to the movies with his friends. He got that job, and from that moment, he has continued to love the hospitality industry.