DOWNEY — Kirk Cartozian, the owner and CEO of Tequila Mandala, will be the guest speaker at the Feb. 27 meeting of the Downey Historical Society.

The meeting is from 6-8 pm at the Barbara J. Riley Community and Senior Center.

Cartozian founded Tequila Mandala in 2016 and it has already achieved distinction as a household spirits name brand in Southern California. Mandala has now set its sights on a larger audience and is currently planning a national distribution roll out.

Cartozian previously served as both a mayor and council member for the City of Downey from 2000 to 2008. At the end of his political career, he launched Cartozian Associates Real Estate.

He has a lengthy work resume in the real estate, government and consulting sectors, handling acquisitions and leasehold transactions, land use entitlement, permitting and government affairs.

In 2015, Cartozian leveraged his experience in real estate, partnering with Adrian Amosa in the new launch of Gaucho Grill Argentine Steakhouse. The first location opened in Downey in 2016, West Covina in 2018, Buena Park in 2020, Pasadena in 2021, and Gaucho Long Beach in 2023.

Today, Cartozian Associates has grown into one of the leading real estate brokerage, transaction and consultancy firms in the region, benefiting both private sector companies and public agencies especially as it relates to land use matters.

Cartozian Associates prides its longstanding professional relationship with Porto’s Bakery and the Porto Family and being an integral part of its expansion into Downey, as well as Buena Park, West Covina, Northridge and Downtown Disney still to come.

Most recently, Cartozian and his partner Amosa, completed the adaptive reuse of the former Avenue Theatre in Downey into a 16,000 sq. ft., four-concept venue. The operating businesses there are Avenue Pizzaria, Beso Los Angeles, Mandala Bar and Kuduowl.

Cartozian received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berekley, and an MBA/MRED (Master of Business Administration/Master of Real Estate Development) from the University of Southern California.

Cartozian served on the board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate, USC’s Sol Price School of Public Policy Board, as well as on USC Price’s Board of Councilors.