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CEO Profile

Rocco’s Next Act

By Eric Barton

After an

MS diagnosis,

Rocco Mangel

set an ambitious

fundraising goal

I n the past decade, Rocco Mangel has somehow customers and old friends and pretty much everyone he
managed to open a new restaurant every year.
knows, that put his year total over his $365,000 goal.
“I really haven’t stopped fundraising in a year,”
So when Mangel, the namesake and owner of the Rocco’s Mangel says. “It has been exhausting, but it has also been
Tacos chain that grew up from the Las Olas location, was really rewarding.”
diagnosed with MS in August 2016, he decided to handle
it just like he tackles anything else. He got to work. In that time, he also hasn’t slowed down at his day job.
The day after the MS Walk, Mangel was in Naples,
“One of the first things I did after coming to grips with it getting ready to open the next Rocco’s Tacos. Add to that
was I spoke to my friends and family and told them that I raising his 5-year-old daughter, Charley, who has assisted
was going to make this public. And then I came up with a with the fundraising campaigns, including shooting videos
plan to raise a lot of money,” Mangel says. with dad asking for donations.
He set a goal for himself of soliciting a grand a day over the Even though he hit his goal, don’t expect him to slow
course of a year. It started out with $41,000 through social down. Mangel says he just dreamed up something huge,
networking posts about his diagnosis. He followed that by although it’s still in development. “I’m going to do
collecting $30,000 through a New York City bike ride. something epic,” he says. “It’s going to be a very

And then in February he capped it all off with the West significant amount of money I’m going to raise. It’s big.”
Palm Beach MS Walk, at which he raised somewhere near Rocco’s Tacos
$60,000. Along with donations that came in from 1313 E Las Olas Blvd., 954-524-9550, roccostacos.com

LAS OLAS BOULEVARD
24 LAS OLAS BOULEVARD & ISLES& ISLES