Aaron Rivera was a chef on the rise in Charlotte before deciding to move closer to his family. Photo courtesy

Aaron Rivera was a chef on the rise — and fast. He launched his Chrome Toaster food truck in 2013 to many accolades and much media coverage. By 2015, he was ready for a full restaurant and opened Tapas 51 in the former Passion8 space in Fort Mill. Again, he received high praise throughout the Charlotte metro area.

He was a key part in the close-knit community of Charlotte chefs. You would often see him at Charlotte Regional Farmers Market chatting in a gaggle with some of his contemporaries: Paul Verica, Luca Annunziata, Ben Philpott, Clark Barlowe, and others.

He was getting national attention as well, appearing on a Food Network episode of “Beat Bobby Flay.” He won with a brisket empanada with pickled onions.

Rivera was making big waves in Charlotte’s culinary community. Then he shut it all down.

“Family has always been my decision for most of my moves,” Rivera says. “I went to visit my family in Arizona in Christmas of 2016 with young nephews and nieces even more prevalent in the picture. When I got there, I noticed they really had no idea who I was and were not familiar with me. Right there and then I knew my time in Charlotte had come to an end. I had been away from home since 2005.”

The final night at Tapas 51 brought in well-known industry professionals from around the city to say goodbye, including (from left to right) RJ Corley, Gerardo Bollo, Clark Barlowe, Luca Annunziata, Aaron Rivera, Paul Verica, Jim Diecchio, and Alex Verica. Tom Petaccia/UP

He came back from Arizona and announced he was selling his restaurant and moving to be closer to his family. On February 7, 2017 Tapas 51 closed.

Rivera then headed west, but not immediately to Arizona. First stop: Colorado. He teamed up with longtime friend Brother Luck at the restaurant Four in Colorado Springs. The plan was to create a series of restaurant concepts, however it didn’t take long for him to realize this wasn’t the place for him.

“Brother and I have been friends since high school, but we had two different thoughts on the restaurant industry,” Rivera says. “I was already getting burnt out without even knowing it. The town was too small for me, the culture was not what I wanted for a town, and I just knew within the first year it was time for me to start thinking of another path.”

Next stop: Arizona and back with family, but there were some challenges there as well. He began working for an area restaurant company, but clashes with the operating owner lead to a major decision. He decided to leave the industry entirely.

“It was an easy decision for me to leave the industry,” Rivera says. “I just wasn’t sure of the path that I wanted to take.”

He decided to feed people’s life and financial goals as a financial strategist and real estate broker. He took 90 hours of classroom training, followed by more focused self-study. “I now have a clear path on what I want to create and keep focused on,” Rivera says.

Today, Rivera is in the top ten percentile of the brokerage firm Keller Williams Realty, with plans to open his own brokerage firm soon. He is also a strategist for the TKO Financial Network. “I want to build a nationwide team of financial strategists in the life insurance industry and bring financial education, entrepreneurship, and forward mindset thinking to the communities I grew up in: the culinary community, the low-income community, and the Hispanic community,” he says.

When he thinks of returning to the culinary community, his goals are more on the business end rather than in the kitchen. “It would be as an investor with a completely different mindset,” Rivera says. “I would love to work with owners to increase their production, employee retention, and customer service with using a different approach than most are used to,” Rivera says.  He admits though, he has no plans to do this in the immediate future.

All is going well in his personal life as well: He recently got engaged. “I am the happiest I have been in the past 20 years,” Rivera says. “I wake up thrilled to work. I have an amazing fiancée. I have my rough days, like everyone, however I am more happy than I have ever been in the past. I’m having more fun, I’m traveling, and I have more financial security with less worry.

“And I am in the best shape of my life.”