A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Marisa Villareal

Every great leader starts from the bottom and has to work their way to the top. That was the case for Marisa Villareal, who has since found her purpose in a comfortable environment as a leader who strives to put others before herself.

Villareal grew up all over the place. She was born in West Virginia and lived in Georgia for a few years before moving to Valparaiso when she was 6 years old. Her parents have always had ties to Northwest Indiana.

“My parents are from Gary, and they made their way down south for work before I came to Valparaiso,” Villareal said. “My dad worked at AT&T, but then we eventually came back up here. I graduated from Valparaiso High School.”

Shortly after, Villareal went to Ivy Tech Community College and received her associate’s degree in business administration. At 19 years old, she became a mother to her son, which caused a change in direction for her. One day, she found out about Roots Market Cafe in downtown Valparaiso from one of her friends. When she first stepped foot inside the store, it felt like a match made in heaven.

“My friend who told me about Roots was close with the owners,” Villareal said. “At the time, it was owned by the Mattingly family. I think Amy Mattingly saw a lot of herself in me. She brought me in, and it was a really good thing for me. My son was just a newborn when I started working there. It wasn’t until he got a bit older that I decided to go back to school.” 

For the past four years, Villareal has been a store manager at Roots. While she takes on a lot of leadership responsibilities, she has delegated a number of roles since she first started working there. 

“I’ve been there to manage everything from inventory to payroll,” Villareal said. “In 2021, we rebranded and introduced a cafe. I try to stay on top of any issues that come up throughout the cafe, dealing with customer service or any bumps in the road.”

Villareal has found the camaraderie to be pleasant in the working environment, from her co-workers to the customers who come into the cafe.

“We’ve developed these values at Roots of reliability, flexibility, authenticity, community, and team unity,” Villareal said. “Every person who comes through the door is impacted by their work there. I can’t help but become friends with everyone I work with because we all care so much. When you’re working with food and hospitality or customer service, it requires a heart that loves everyone you come into contact with. The food is healthy, so it makes you feel good inside and out. We’ve been able to find a group of people who are creative and passionate for the community.”

Working at Roots has presented Villareal with plenty of fun opportunities. Some ways that she has been able to assist the community has been donating soup to the Hilltop Neighborhood House for their annual soup competition, supporting the Kiwanis Key Club, and giving away gift cards to the YMCA, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana, and many women’s shelters.

One of the best parts of working at Roots for Villareal has been working as an art curator. For the past two years, the business has worked with the Valparaiso Creative Council to showcase art inside the cafe and throughout downtown Valparaiso, including Lower Lincoln. Roots also hosts receptions for local artists quarterly. 

Being an artist has always been in Villareal’s blood. She’s even had an opportunity to showcase her own art within the cafe.

“The two times that I’ve shown my own art were at shows that we had at Roots,” Villareal said. “We did an employee art show in 2019 that I was a part of, and then I had a solo art show in 2021. I have such a passion for curating what’s on the walls at Roots because I’ve painted and drawn for so long myself.”

While she hasn’t been able to showcase her art as much recently, she hopes to get back into another show soon.

In her free time, Villareal loves to spend as much time with her family as possible. Together, they watch movies, listen to music, and celebrate with family dinners. She is also very involved in her church at St. Paul, teaching religious education to third graders and volunteering when she can.

As Villareal continues to look ahead, she is looking forward to what’s in store for Roots in the upcoming months. She’s hoping to bring the business into the best position possible, with the hopes to apply what she’s learned at Roots to future endeavors.

“I would love to have my own business one day,” Villareal said. “With all this experience I’ve had, it would be awesome to do something similar and give back to the community. Taking care of people is my passion. I just want to give back to the world. I try to do things that aren’t for myself, because I don’t think enough people out there think of others before themselves.”