Torres

Ana Torres takes her job as general manager of Green Ghost Tacos seriously.

“We were raised with a work ethic,” she says of her and her three brothers’ upbringing. “I’ve always tried to do my best because I have a passion for people. I like making people happy, so that comes easy with me.”

A Murrah High School graduate who has worked in almost every facet of the restaurant industry, Ana Torres, the sister of Green Ghost owner Cesar Torres, holds a wealth of passion and knowledge for and in the food business.

At a very mature 15, Torres worked for Cozumel in Ridgeland.

“If anyone is looking for the manager, it’s you,” the owner would say on his way out, she remembers. “He knew he could depend on me.”

At 22, Torres moved to Chicago to work for Texas-based Uncle Julio’s where she continued to hone her restaurant chops – from table service to general manager. When she returned to Jackson, stints at Georgia Blue and Sombra preceded her return to her family’s restaurant.

Now that Green Ghost has reopened (in the former Lenny’s Sub Shop in April), Torres is ready to take the lead. Customers will still see Cesar, but Ana will handle the day-to-day operations.

With a long-term lease signed last

December, the initial plan was to freshen up, get opened and renovate later. Then the sidewalk grant construction began, a two-month setback to their plans.

At this point, the family made the decision to go for a full renovation, “to give people a different experience — to showcase what Green Ghost is about.”

That mission is people and food focused.

“It’s a caring and love process,” Torres says. “In the end, we started this because we are passionate about food and we like to serve people. I feel it’s a different experience than other places.”

Their customers’ responses so far?

Adoration.

“That’s what keeps us going, that positivity, people coming in to say ‘We’re glad to have you, glad you’re back… we miss your food,’” she says. “When someone comes in and (encourages me), it gives me the motivation I need.”