SUCCESS STORIESArrin Cuan started out on debt, even when the owner had risked the last 7,000 quetzales of the family's patrimony. When her husband died, Marta Alicia decided to find a place for her business. One day, she saw a house that she thought she could afford. She asked the owner to be compassionate of her and her sons, and to rent her a room. Ten years later, she would buy the whole house...
Five years after the restaurant opened, Marta Alicia wanted to sell it and go to the United States. Her brothers, who had first made fun of her dream, argued that she did have profits because she now owned what she had bought on credit and loans.
Starting in 1985, Arrin Cuan began to prosper. Even though it now has 60 tables and fills the whole house, there is not enough space to accomodate all of the families, personalities, tourists, and guatemalans that wish to enjoy the typical guatemalan cuisine, prepared with exquisite taste.
The key to the success of Arrin Cuan is far from being a marketing secret. The owner assures it is due to her enthusiasm and constant presence in the business.
In 1995, Arrin Cuan won three prizes at the International Gastronomic Festival, which takes place annually in Guatemala. "I think we need to project our values and prove that guatemalans have a lot to give to the tourists and to ourselves", says Marta Alicia, who now offers 40 different dishes daily.
"We feel bad because of the old-fashioned building. We are planning to invest and remodel...", promises this woman, used to opening her business at six in the morning and closing it at eleven at night "or later".
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