Fostering Friendships at Flaco's

By: Kayleigh Johnson, Promotions Copywriting Coordinator

Picture this: It is 7 p.m. on a Thursday. You are walking around downtown Chicago and stumble upon Flaco’s Tacos’ Water Tower location. You cannot resist the delicious smells and warm lighting, so you decide to grab dinner. You open the door to 30 college students in business casual attire, eating, laughing and relating to each other. You might be wondering: How do they know each other, and why are they here? The answer: The work culture at Inigo Communications paired with the quick, fresh and authentic Mexican food from Flaco’s Tacos creates the perfect space for Inigoans to bond. 

Flaco’s Tacos is a Mexican restaurant with three locations in Chicago. They pride themselves on efficiently serving quality food. 

Jenny DeRango, a former Inigoan and Flaco’s regular, is an Associate Digital Connector at Golin. She joined Inigo in Spring 2019 as an Account Executive and then became the Corporate Communications Director in Fall 2019. During the following semester, she became Inigo’s Teaching Assistant for her entire senior year. “One of the first things I was told when I got in as a sophomore was Flaco’s is tradition around here. They told you from the get-go.” Even throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, DeRango explained Inigo’s class culture as well as the connection to Flaco’s remained strong. She believes Inigo’s acquisition of Flaco’s as a client last semester is a testament to the strength of the relationship.  

DeRango was a transfer student new to the communications world and used Flaco’s as an opportunity to socialize with other Loyola students. “Adding on social aspects just made [Inigo] more special by tenfold. I made real friends from there that I’m still connected with... I’m always rooting for them,” she said. “It’s made a really strong network professionally and personally.” Inigo stuck with DeRango, and she currently serves as a mentor for the agency, frequently visiting class and participating in Professional Development Nights.  Her advice for current Inigoans is to “stay patient, get out of your comfort zone, talk to people you wouldn’t necessarily think you would normally, it will surprise you,” and to “keep up connections when you can.” 

Lillian Niziolek, Teaching Assistant, has been a member of Inigo for four semesters. She goes at least twice a month to Flaco’s, which she considers a highlight of Inigo. She said, “When you’re working with friends, you want to do good work for them because you care about them.” Niziolek reflected on one of her favorite times at Flaco’s, stating “it’s cool when either mentors . . .  or professionals after professional development night decide to come with us.” She continued, “you get to hear some more insights from these professionals in an environment that doesn’t seem so stressful and sterile,” which lends itself to more personal and casual mentorship.   

Niziolek stated, “Coming into Inigo can be a little bit scary if you don’t know a lot of people. It’s easier to work with people when you know them on a more personal level; it seems less awkward; you’re not as afraid to ask questions.”  She concluded that Flaco’s is integral to Inigo and positively impacts the agency’s work because it allows Inigoans to mingle with one another. 

Spending time together outside of class meetings is extremely important in creating a better workplace culture as well as improving the quality of work overall. The Royal Society Publishing found that “social capital is strongly linked to subjective well–being,” including workplace relationships (Helliwell and Putnam). The Academy of Management also found that “work relationships play a key role in promoting employee flourishing” (Colbert, Bono and Purvanova).  

These benefits are extremely visible within Inigo. The friendly environment and trusting relationships result in cohesive work with evident collaboration. Within Inigo, members can sometimes find themselves working exclusively within their teams, so Flaco’s is a great way to build rapport across teams and roles.  

Victoria Palmeri, a second semester Public Relations Coordinator, says she averages four to five Flaco’s trips in a semester. Her first time trying the food was with Inigoans for a deliverable. Her favorite Flaco’s memory was filming memes for Flaco’s social media accounts. “Our job was to go there, eat tacos and have fun,” she said. Palmeri believes Inigo’s relationship with Flaco’s translates into the agency’s work, especially in the agency’s deliverables for them. Of Flaco’s, Palmeri states, “It has strengthened my relationships with other Inigoans.” She believes connecting outside of the classroom creates more of a sense of community within the agency.  Palmeri believes that Flaco’s develops long lasting friendships that reflect Inigo’s commitment to collaboration. 

It is impossible to deny Flaco’s Tacos’ impact on Inigo Communications. The importance of bonding with fellow agency members cannot be understated. Casual relationships fostered at Flaco’s manifest into collaborative and genuine deliverable work. 

Many agency members mentioned Flaco’s in their anonymous bequest letters to future staff members, proving just how significant Flaco’s truly is to the agency: 

“Go to Flaco’s!! This is one of the best things about Inigo. It creates some really amazing memories and allows for team bonding outside of a classroom setting, also, Flaco’s is delicious and worth every penny. Some of my favorite memories throughout the semester were in Flaco’s or on the shuttle ride home.” 

30 college students sharing tacos and laughs may look strange to an outsider, but it is a vital tradition for team building and creating quality work within Inigo Communications.