University of North Texas

The six children of Rudy Guerra Sr. and his wife, Carmen, learned the importance of dedication, hard work and education from watching their parents build a family-owned business.

And several members of the family honed their skills at UNT.

Those graduates now help run Rudy’s Tortillas, which supplies 40 states and 12 countries with its products, used in such chains as On the Border, Chuy’s and Abuelo’s.

The Guerras and three other families who run businesses are profiled in the summer 2014 issue of The North Texan, the university’s quarterly alumni magazine. The families share how their ties serve as a foundation for their success and how their education at UNT helped them further their businesses.

“I enjoyed it so much, learning and growing up in the business, that I pursued a degree that would help me to continue to grow in that business,” says Joe Guerra, who earned a degree in restaurant and hospitality management and now serves on the College of Merchandising, Hospitality and Tourism’s Hospitality Board of Governors.

(Above, Joe Guerra and his sister Kathy Purser in the Rudy's Tortilla Factory in Carrollton. Photo by Michael Clements/URCM.)

Other families include:

• Sisters Ngoc Nguyen and Van Weaver, whose weekend baking hobby turned into NV Cupcakes, a bakery with stores in Corinth and Denton.
• Lindy and John Rydman, the husband and wife team who run Spec’s Wines, Spirits and Finer Foods – originally owned by her father. Spec’s boasts 158 stores across Texas.
• The Gore family, who own and operate Pender’s Music Co. in Carrollton, Denton and Oklahoma City and online, and Music 1st in Southlake and Frisco.

The summer edition of The North Texan also includes articles, photos and links to videos on other topics:

• Read about Department of Dance and Theatre alumni who are making their way into Hollywood, and the dancing and theatre worlds.
• Meet alumna Cara Santa Maria, whose “Talk Nerdy” podcast introduces listeners to the latest news in science.
• Learn more about the UNT Alumni Association and how to join.