Manolo Gonzalez Vergara

Gonzalez Vergara was born on September 16, 1991, in Barranquilla, Colombia, and moved to Miami and then Los Angeles as his mother’s career grew.⁠[1]

He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he says he “studied writing and filmmaking”; he also says he learned to cook “out of necessity” and was cooking Thanksgiving dinner for the family by the age of 15.⁠[1]

He played a DJ in the 2015 film Hot Pursuit and Preston in the AT&TAT&TAT&T (AT&T Inc.) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Its predecessor was SBC Communications, a regional holding company created in the 1984 breakup of the Bell System; SBC merged with the original AT&T Corp. in 2005 and adopted its name, and it has since operated a nationwide wireless network and fiber broadband, at one time also owning DIRECTV and WarnerMedia.Open the full entry mystery series Guilty Party; in 2024 he said he was not interested in more acting.⁠[1]

He says he has done some directing and writes a lot, and he hosted and executive produced the cooking competition show Celebrity Family Food Battle.⁠[1]

In 2024 he launched the food brand TOMA with his mother, Sofía Vergara, and hospitality executive Sam Nazarian; the launch party was held in June 2024 at Hyde Sunset Kitchen + Cocktails in Los Angeles, and TOMA describes its mission as “[c]reating the world’s most iconic empanadas.”⁠[1]

TOMA’s website says the brand blends Latin American flavors with high-quality ingredients, with products ranging from spicy empanadas to cheesy pandebono.⁠[2]

As of March 2025, TOMA empanadas were sold at select WalmartWalmartWalmart is an American retailer founded by Sam Walton in 1962, with businesses spanning physical retail, membership warehouse clubs, e-commerce and related services. Its businesses include Walmart and Sam’s Club, and it has expanded into other markets through international investments; its shares trade on Nasdaq under the ticker WMT.Open the full entry stores across the United States.⁠[1]

On September 4, 2025, Nestlé Professional Solutions announced a partnership with TOMA to bring frozen empanadas to foodservice. The two developed beef and chicken varieties, curated with The Everybody Eats Hospitality Group and shown at the National Restaurant Show; as co-founder, Gonzalez Vergara said, “TOMA is a celebration of who we are.”⁠[3]

On July 2, 2026, Hard Knocks Business released the short video “As Kim Kardashian would say…,” whose description identifies him as a co-founder of TOMA (spelling the surname “Gonzales”). The host stopped him beside a car for a street interview; the filming location is not stated.⁠[4]

In the video he said TOMA had launched two years earlier and was anticipating revenue of around $4 million to $5 million that year, and that its partner was Sam Nazarian of SBE.⁠[4]

He recalled that, having gone to film school, in his first business meetings he was googling terms such as “MOQ” on the side, and said he used to think business was boring but found it is actually “a very creative endeavor”; he also said he had a few failed businesses.⁠[4]

Discussing big-box retail, he said shelf height dictates how much a brand makes that year, with some two hundred other brands competing in the same aisle.⁠[4]

He encouraged founders who are afraid to start to act anyway, acknowledging that at first you often have no idea what you are doing, but that persistence pays off (video at 00:25).⁠[4]

He said he learned from watching his mother’s career not to show all your cards at once, and to let people underestimate you and prove them wrong with results (video at 00:50).⁠[4]

He compared failure to failing a level in a video game: the next time you go through it faster, and business works the same way, getting a little closer each time (video at 00:58).⁠[4]

He advised starting even if you have no idea where to go (video at 01:14).⁠[4]

He said launching at a huge retailer is probably not the best move for a startup, because it ties up a lot of capital and can hurt cash flow; if starting over, he would wait a few years until the company was better prepared (video at 01:18).⁠[4]

TOMA: Official website: https://eattoma.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[2]