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OGDEN — Javier Chavez Sr. has never been one to think small or give anything less than his all.
It's a quality he honed first as the second of 12 children on a small farm in Zacatecas, Mexico; then, as a track star in Mexico and at Weber State University; and, finally as the owner of Ogden's oldest Mexican restaurant: Javier's Authentic Mexican Food.
"It was hard work on the farm, but I discovered that if you try hard, you will make it ... always try, knock the doors and never quit," Chavez said. "When I go to talk to kids at churches, or elementary school or high school, I tell them, 'Sí, se puede, you can do it' — you just have to work hard."
Decades of Chavez's hard work and community service were honored Friday when he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by Weber State University.
Kearston Cutrubus, Board of Trustees chairman at Weber State, said during last week's commencement ceremony that the degree is the "highest honor Weber State confers upon an individual."
"In recognition of his commitment to the Utah restaurant community, through his family-owned and -operated restaurant ... for his impeccable story of grit and determination to succeed as a Mexican immigrant turned American entrepreneur, for his outstanding talent as a Weber State University record-holding student-athlete, Weber State University ... confers upon Javier Chavez Sr. the degree of doctor of humanities," Cutrubus said.
Chavez has a long list of achievements — ranging from being inducted into the WSU Athletic Hall of Fame to being named Ogden Pioneer Days' Grand Marshall and being awarded the Utah Coalition of La Raza's Cesar Chavez Peace and Justice Award. But seeing Chavez be awarded an honorary doctorate was a special experience for his family.
"Being able to see him today just kind of hit a little bit different. My dad actually used to work here at the Dee Events Center," his daughter Amada Materre said. "Just to see him come back and get an honorary degree where he was working is pretty cool. ... One of his main sayings is 'Never give up.' That's kind of what he has always instilled in my siblings and I."
Chavez first came to Utah in 1977 after being recruited to Weber State's track team (he'd previously been the national champion of the 1500-meter run in Mexico and missed making the Mexican team for the 1976 Olympics by a split-second). He had zero English skills and no money to his name when he arrived in Ogden, so he turned to jobs working in restaurants.
Chavez took the skills he learned washing dishes and eventually managing restaurants and opened the first Javier's Authentic Mexican Food in 1991. The decision came out of a necessity to support his family after a layoff.
"I didn't know what we were going to do. Then, because we knew the skills to cook, and management, I said to my wife, 'Why don't we open our own restaurant, our own business?' We opened our first restaurant with my kids working and my wife and I cooking," Chavez said.
His son, Javier Chavez Jr., was about 11 at the time and remembers the early days of the restaurant being daunting.
"It was very worrisome just embarking on and starting a new business. I was old enough to know what that meant and what was going on, but my father had this unwavering confidence and faith that he had the experience and the know-how to make a new Mexican restaurant work," he said, stressing that although the restaurant carries his father's name, it was very much a team effort between Chavez Sr. and his wife, Amada V. Chavez.
Chavez Jr. and his siblings have been involved in the business since its inception, whether it was waiting on tables as teenagers or running the business social media accounts and legal department as adults. Today, Javier's has six locations in Ogden, Farmington and Layton.
"We all were part of that journey. My dad never hesitated to say this is a family business. Always "We, we, we," and never 'I, I, I,'" Chavez Jr. said.
He added that in addition to the restaurant's great food and good service, he credits Javier's success to the personal attention his father puts into the restaurant and his clients.
"That was the magic of Javier's. My father would come out and personally meet them and shake their hands and want to get to know them," Chavez Jr. said. "My father is a people person. He loves people and he loves to get to know people and get to know strangers — and they're strangers just for a second because he gets to know them, their background and about their families."
That sociable nature has made him a pillar in the community, where he has donated time and money to church groups, high school sports teams and organizations like the American Cancer Society, the Ogden Chamber of Commerce and the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
"(The honorary degree) really covers many years of contributions to many different communities," Chavez Jr. said. "He is a gentleman who is respected by so many because he has given so much to so many people."
As Chavez Sr. exited the commencement ceremony Friday, his commitment to the community was evident as half a dozen individuals stopped him to congratulate him and thank him for his dedication to Ogden or compliment his food.
"It's a great honor," Chavez Sr. said of being awarded the degree. "I hope this honor will help everybody, especially the Hispanic community. It says 'Go to college and it's very important to have an education.'"
