As a  young man Jonathan began working in the restaurant business to support himself while attending college. Jonathan was in love with food before the term foodie was part of our cultural lexicon so falling in love with this new career was only inevitable. Even after graduating from Cal State LA Jonathan continued to work in the restaurant industry. When he started bartending this love of food provided a platform to create craft cocktails that were not only original but also gained him local recognition as winner of several cocktail competitions. At his last job in the restaurant industry Jonathan was promoted to manager after only two years, but he continued behind the bar, honing his skills in conversation and building relationships with clientele. These skills he was perfecting would soon translate to a new career.

​

After seven years of marriage to his wonderful wife, Kat, they were blessed with the arrival of their first child and he was blessed to give his son his name, Jonathan III. When they realized they were expecting another child in less than two years he came to the realization that he wanted a career that would afford him more time with his family.  Through the years he had been approached by numerous owners of boutique real estate companies. A career in real estate seemed like a perfect transition to continue with his ability to build relationships and give the attention to his family he desired.  Jonathan attended real estate school while continuing to work nights in the restaurant industry to support his family.  Just as he completed real estate school the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and there was no more bartending for him to support the family. All this and they were expecting the arrival of their second son, James Houston in less than two weeks. That’s when a new opportunity arose and Jonathan was recruited into the newly-formed Commercial Real Estate Division of the Rodriguez Law Group.  He was recruited to do this job because of his excellent communication skills and natural ease with meeting new people.