독해 연습 1: Witnessing the American Dream

We were short on cash for those few years, but luckily there were many tasty low-cost restaurants in the area that catered to the students.  Good cuisine at a low price is always one of the perks to living nearby a university.

Anyhow, I remember one day my mother told us that a new Mexican restaurant had opened up down near her school and we should give it a try.  We drove just a few blocks and piled out of the car in front of a building that had formerly housed the neighborhood ice cream shop.

The new owner had completely transformed the interior into a modern Mayan-inspired Mexican restaurant.  My mother recommended I try the Barbacoa — an oversized burrito that soon became one of the diner’s flagship items.  It was an awesome flavor.  For only a couple bucks more than the fast food chains charged, I could have an excellent-tasting meal.  Later I worked my way through the entire menu, and found that everything else was just as satisfying.

I’d often prod my mother, whose first master’s degree was in Spanish, to speak to the staff in Spanish as I was fascinated by the sound of foreign languages from a young age.  We soon got on a first-name basis with the owner and he would greet us with a nod and a smile as he busily went through the day’s receipts.

We soon heard the account of how he had — after recently graduating business school — announced to his father that he wanted to open up a taco restaurant.  Despite his father’s vociferous protestations and diagnosis that the last thing Denver needed was another taco joint, he pushed ahead with his dream.

His store was always packed with customers and soon the owner had his sights set on expansion.  Before long he was opening locations all over the place, and each of them was every bit as popular as the main branch.

The restaurant now boasts more than 1,000 locations in 38 states.  The staff has expanded from the original team of four that we saw to more than 26,000 today.  Last year the restaurant was the third fastest-growing company in the United States.  I’ve even heard that there are plans for forays into the Korean market.

The company now serves more naturally raised meat than any other and operates under the slogan of “food with integrity.”  I had always heard stories of the American Dream, but seeing it come to fruition in my very own neighborhood was an inspirational episode for me to witness in my youth.

The restaurant was Chipotle Mexican Grill.

In my own backyard: 내 주변에
Pursue: 추구하다
Enrolled: 재학 중인
Divinity school: 신학교
Master’s degree: 석사
Campus: 교정
Short on cash: 돈이 부족하다, 형편이 안 좋다
To cater to ~: <누구를> 대상으로 하는, 겨냥해서
Cuisine: 요리
Perks: 혜택

Give something a try: 한 번 <뭐뭐를> 해보다, 시도하다
Oversized: 특대형, 보통보다 큰
Flagship: 대표적인 <상품>
Bucks: <속어> 달러
Prod someone to do something: 누군가를 무슨 행동을 하도록 부추기다
To be fascinated by: 무엇에 매혹되다
To be on a first-name basis: 호칭이나 성 아니라 이름으로 부르는 사이, 친한 사이
Account: 보고, 이야기, 경험담, 진술
Vociferous: 호된, 큰 소리로 말하는