Franco Zhou immigrated to Canada as a young adult. He attended culinary school on Vancouver Island and bought his first restaurant in Port Alberni a few years later. His next business venture would take him to Kitimat where he purchased a new restaurant in 2014, and then he and his wife, Sophia Fan, bought Don Diego’s in 2015. Together they operate both Don Diego’s and their Kitimat restaurant. Between the two restaurants, life is very busy for the couple, and so they rely heavily on their key staff Laura Holubowski (Kitchen Manager) and Kennedy Badge ( Front of House) pictured here.

Franco is passionate about great food. He loves to cook, although he doesn’t get to do as much of it as he once did. Instead, he spends more of his time managing the restaurant and purchasing supplies. Even so, he works closely with his chefs to keep the menu fresh and exciting (the restaurant offers different specials every day) and to ensure that quality is always of the highest priority when it comes to the food they serve.