Lawrence restaurant owner receives flood of support after partner leaves U.S.

A GoFundMe set up for Lourdes Esmeralda Perez Rojo and Victor Roman quickly became a lifeline for one of Lawrence’s better-known Latin food businesses, climbing past $15,000 as the family faced an uncertain separation tied to immigration problems. The money is meant to help keep Los Guapos Latin Food and Lulu’s Latin Food moving while Perez Rojo carries the daily load at home and at work.

Roman was taken by immigration officials during the week of April 21, and later left the United States for Guatemala. Perez Rojo said that returning there was the best chance Roman had to improve his immigration status and, eventually, make his way back. For now, the family does not know how long he will be gone, and they have been told the absence could last six months, two years or possibly longer.

That uncertainty lands hardest at the center of the couple’s business life. Perez Rojo opened Los Guapos Latin Food at 1500 W. Sixth St. on Sept. 7, 2024, as a new venture built with Roman. The restaurant was designed to bring together dishes from several Latin American countries and to draw both University of Kansas students and longtime Lawrence diners. Perez Rojo also runs Lulu’s Latin Food, which opened in February 2023 at 1410 Kasold Drive, Suite A17, after she previously owned Cielito Lindo, a restaurant that was destroyed by fire in December 2023.

Now Perez Rojo has been left to manage both restaurants while caring for the couple’s young children. The added strain has been heavy, and the family’s ability to keep both businesses steady depends on whether customers keep showing up while Roman is away.

That is why the fundraiser, started by regular customer Erin Spiridigliozzi, resonated so quickly. Spiridigliozzi and her husband had been regulars at Los Guapos since it opened, and she said the owners had made customers feel like family from the beginning. She initially thought the campaign might bring in $5,000, then watched it pass $10,000 before it reached more than $15,000 by Monday morning.

The support for Perez Rojo and Roman also comes against a tense immigration backdrop in Lawrence and Douglas County. In February 2026, Sanctuary Alliance said it had confirmed five ICE sightings and three detainments in Lawrence, while Sheriff Jay Armbrister criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics as chaotic. Lawrence had already walked back some immigrant-protection efforts after Kansas banned sanctuary cities in 2022, even as federal sanctuary-jurisdiction lists released in 2025 included Lawrence and Douglas County, a label local officials disputed.

For Perez Rojo, the stakes are immediate: keep the restaurants staffed, keep the children cared for, and keep a family business alive long enough for Roman to have a chance to return.