Building restaurant empires and property investment portfolios is a reflection of Leonardo Ibarra’s desire to succeed, but his extra job this past school year as a custodian at Navo Middle School exemplifies his winning work ethic.

DRC/Al Key

Co-owners of Pellegrino’s Italian Ristorante, Leonardo Ibarra and Ramiro Rivera stand Monday in their eatery in Sanger. To prove his work ethic to a relative, Ibarra took a second job as a school janitor, despite owning his own restaurant.

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Ibarra moved to Little Elm a year and a half ago and bought Pellegrino’s Italian Ristorante in Sanger after selling two Italian restaurants in the Los Angeles area. When his nephew came to live with him and Ibarra helped connect him with a job as a custodian at Providence Elementary School, Ibarra said his nephew told him, “No, no, would you do that — push a mop?”

To make a point, Ibarra took a janitorial job at Navo Middle School, working at the school in the mornings and at his restaurant in the evenings. His nephew began working at the elementary school.

“I took the job to prove to my nephew that there is nothing wrong with working any job,” Ibarra said.

In 1975 at age 15, he was at the top of his class in Jalisco, Mexico, and left to attend a school for the gifted. Soon after, he landed his first job as a dishwasher in an Italian restaurant. A few months later, he moved up to busboy, eventually becoming waiter, headwaiter and finally manager. After 16 years, Ibarra bought the business and ran it until two years ago.

“I knew I always wanted my own restaurant,” he said.

Through the years, three of his brothers came to work for Ibarra, as two were professional chefs and the other helped him manage.

Ibarra worked diligently through his career, and he has made profitable business investments, buying property in California, Las Vegas and now Texas.

“I bought my first house when I was 18,” he said.

In addition to property in Bridgeport, Dallas and Little Elm, Ibarra owns a ranch in Sherman.

He and his wife of 20 years, Evelia, decided to sell their California restaurants and make the move to Texas. His friend Ramiro Rivera, whom Ibarra mentored when he worked for him in California, moved and convinced him of a better life in Texas.

“It was so crowded in Cali­fornia,” Ibarra said. “I wanted to start over again.”

Ibarra said Rivera always had dreams of opening his own restaurant, to follow in his mentor’s footsteps.

“I told him, save your money, and we’ll open a restaurant,” he said.

As Ibarra and Rivera were on their way to Oklahoma, they passed through Sanger and saw a billboard for Pellegrino’s. When they pulled off the interstate and visited the restaurant, Ibarra said they liked the city.

“We asked the owners if we could buy the restaurant,” he said. “And they said they would sell it.”

Today, Ibarra, Rivera and their family members operate Pelle­grino’s. They are opening a location in Pilot Point in a few months and have plans to open locations in Aubrey and Little Elm.

Hard work doesn’t keep Ibarra from having fun though. He likes to sing and play guitar, often striking up music in the restaurant.

Ibarra finished the school year working as a custodian at Navo, but he will now focus on opening his additional restaurants.

Janet Cephas, who teaches advanced technology, yearbook, keyboarding and a newspaper class at Navo, said she got to know Ibarra over the past year.

“Every morning I would say hello to him as he was washing the windows,” she said. “And one day he told me he owned his own restaurant.”

After learning Ibarra was an entrepreneur, Cephas said she invited him to speak to her advanced technology class.

“He was a little shy and nervous,” Cephas said, adding that Ibarra told her he didn’t speak English very well.

“But when he started talking about his life, they [the students] were on the edge of their seats.”

She said the students asked a variety of questions and were amazed by his commitment to working and achieving success.

“He let them know he was more than a custodian,” she said.

Students designed a logo and business cards for the restaurant, and as a thank-you, Ibarra invited them for a free meal.

The last week of class, Cephas said, about 10 students and their parents dined at the restaurant, which serves pizzas, homemade pastas, specialties and seafood.

“The food is great, and the service is great,” Cephas said, adding that even though Ibarra has staff, he does everything in the restaurant, including cleaning the tables.

“He’s not arrogant, he doesn’t act like he has anything,” she said.

“I think the kids have learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover,” Cephas added.

Ibarra says he will miss the people he’s met working at the school, adding, “I don’t think I’ve been a success. I just think I’ve done OK.”

He said people always ask him how he gets so much done.

“I work,” he said. “I always work.”