No matter where he was, Julio Rene Diaz was no stranger to hard work.
From a cattle rancher in Cuba to a grocery distributor in America, Diaz worked almost around the clock to make his dreams come true.
Rene Diaz said his father, called Don Rene by most, was a “real entrepreneur.”
“Real entrepreneurs are very rare; they have the insight and vision of determining the needs of a group before anyone else,” the younger Diaz told friends and family during a funeral Mass on Saturday. “It was his vision to sell food-service products to Mexican restaurants. Without his vision there would be no Diaz Foods.”
The elder Diaz opened Diaz Foods in 1980 after working with his father and other family members in the grocery business for about a decade. His company, which started as a small business, is now an enterprise that has spread into 24 states.
Diaz died Aug. 5 at Saint Joesph’s Hospital from complications of congestive heart failure. He was 78. The funeral Mass was held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Atlanta. H. M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel was in charge of arrangements.
Diaz arrived in Atlanta in 1967 with his wife, Ines, and their two children. It wasn’t the easiest of moves, his son said.
“In this new land he found himself not knowing the language, but that didn’t stop him,” the younger Diaz said during his remarks at the funeral. “Within days of arriving to the U.S. he had not one job, but three, thanks to our family and great friends.”
He used most of his waking moments building the family grocery store business, and later the distribution company.
“He never tossed a baseball with me, he worked seven days a week,” his son said Tuesday. “But on Sunday we’d go to the movies.”
The importance of customer service was something the elder Diaz never forgot. He spent time with his customers so he could anticipate their needs.
“Diaz was very much a customer advocate,” said Eric Newberg, chief financial officer of Diaz Foods. “He made sure that he exceeded customers’ expectations.”
Newberg said the relationship Diaz had with the company’s customers leaned more toward the personal than professional. About two weeks ago, Diaz was still working. Newberg said the ailing man wanted to see his customers. Cane in hand, he got a driver to take him to the various grocery stores the business served for one last visit.
“It wasn’t just a job, it was his life,” Newberg said.
In addition to his wife and son, Diaz is survived by his daughter Lourdes Winkelmann of Atlanta; sister Maria Rodriguez; and four grandchildren.
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