Luam Werson runs Mojito’s tiny dining room with the back-clapping warmth of a guy who always knew he wanted to go into hospitality. Today he’s the face of Lake City Way’s much-loved Latin and Cuban restaurant, but nothing about Werson’s personal history suggested he might one day oversee a handsome rum list and an exacting menu of twice-fried plantains (aka tostones), bowls of sancocho, and pabellon, the Venezuelan dish of shredded beef.

To start, Werson was born in Ethiopia. When Mojito opened in 2001, the owners hired Werson as a dishwasher. In 2010, he earned a partnership stake in the North End location. Over time the other three partners peeled off; today Werson is Mojito’s sole owner. He’s added a significant rum collection and traveled to Latin America to finesse some of the signature dishes.

Mojito’s following outgrew its tiny dining room long ago. Later this year, the restaurant will move to a larger location in Maple Leaf. Here, Werson talks about the work ethic that paid off.

I’m originally from East Africa; I was a refugee in Greece for four and a half years and ended up getting sponsored to come to the United States. My family came here in 1992. I was 13.

After school I started working—at a place called the Frankfurter, at Island Grub in Bellevue Square. I was detailing cars, selling cars in Lynnwood for a little bit. The owners of Island Grub were opening a new spot, Mojito. It was downtown, at Western and Elliott.

When the restaurant opened, I got a dishwashing job. I had nobody breathing down my neck, I was the only one doing the dishes. Those commercial degreasers, man—they make your hands bleed at the end of the night. Nobody knew what a mojito drink was then. Back in the day you had to peel the plantain, dice the plantain, take them out, smash them, and fry them again to make tostones.

I worked as a cook part-time, became friends with the co-partners [who owned the restaurant]. It got me intrigued to be in the hospitality business. It teaches you patience, it teaches you grace.

One owner offered me a management position downtown, another separated to open a spot up north, he offered me a percentage. I took the partnership. I chose to come to the North End. It surprised me. They didn’t have to do that, but they saw my work ethic. I felt like I had earned it; I came in on my day off to fix things. I treated it like my home. I was the person to call if something’s leaking. I always had extra clothes in my car because I didn’t know if I was going to be the bartender or the dishwasher.

It was me and three guys. We ended up going our separate ways. I had to accept all the taxes and liability for them to walk away. So I became sole owner.

We have modified the menu so much to where it is now. I took the time to go to Venezuela to learn to make the pabellon. To make sofrito in Puerto Rico. Everybody thinks mom made his dish the best way. When we opened, we used to use a lot of bacon and sausage, now we use a different base for the sofrito for the vegans. Everybody can enjoy the beans.

We do educational rum tasting dinners. I got the chance to go to Portugal and go to Barbados. Rum is not a party drink, not a mixer. To me, it’s such a hard, labor-intensive spirit. The fermentation process of rum is so sensitive. I think tequila had its time, bourbon had its time. There are a lot of good boutique rums out there.

I do what I do because there’s so many people behind me that support me and love me. My family got accepted to live in Ballinger Homes, which is King County Housing Authority. It’s low-income housing—family of six, paying $400 in rent. It’s obvious someone is paying for the rest.

That’s why, when the pandemic started, we started making meals for low-income seniors. We also prep and cook meals weekly for the University Food Bank. I’ve been doing a lot of meals for the last eight years for the Mariners. When different teams come to town, the nutritionists get ahold of me. We’ve been making food for the Latin American players.

I’ve been at Mojito for pretty much 24 years. I’ve done so many funerals here, so many weddings here, so many baby showers. It’s a part of me now, you know?