PEORIA MAGAZINE September 2023

Christell Frausto shows off the architectural plans for her newest business venture

“My grandfather gave me the biggest advice: ‘Be a thinker,’” Frausto said. “My grandmother told me I was wild, but she told me to embrace that and don’t let people corner you.” Those lessons have served Frausto well. She looks for opportunity and figures out ways to bring visions to reality. When she encounters skepticism or sexism, she fights for what she believes. She is neither averse to risk nor immune to failure. At 16, Frausto bought into an aroma therapy kiosk that her mother owned in a Chicagoland shopping mall. Rapid overexpansion became unsustainable and the business closed. “I lost $7,000. To me, that was all the money in the world,” she said. So Frausto earned her GED and took a sales job, first with Nextel Sprint, then with Verizon. At first, she figured this would be the rest of her life. “Just keep my head down and get paid,” she said. But a store manager challenged her, and her ambition returned. Frausto became a floating supervisor, trou bleshooting problems at different stores. Eventually, she transferred to Peoria, where physical ailments made it difficult to spend too much time on her feet. So Frausto changed course.

She and her husband at the time, Faisal Dossa, bought a gas station on Prospect. He remains her business partner. Subsequently, Frausto became licensed to sell insurance and bought a Farmers Insurance franchise, which she sold early last year. By then, TequilaRia had taken off, and Frausto had begun yet another business, CFS United Inc., which buys, renovates and rents homes on the East and West Bluffs. ‘SHE’S A WAYMAKER’ Yvonne Greer Batton, chair of the Peoria Civic Center Authority Board, met Frausto about three years ago. “She’s a waymaker,” Batton said. “She doesn’t just climb to the top of the lad der and knock it over. She stays there, encourages you and reaches down to help you. She has an energy that pulls you in, insights that say if the glass is not full, here’s what we need to get there. “She stays hungry. People who stay hungry are always looking for opportu nities to do good, not just for themselves. Christell has that hunger.” Frausto sees Peoria as a land of op portunity. “In Chicago, we never had a yard, and I spent a whole year of my life in traffic.

I did the math on that,” she said. “Here, we can enjoy our living space and time to do things. And it’s affordable.” Her personal dream is to build a homestead for her family. Her business and community dreams are closely tied: Build successful ventures, share her expertise and invest in opportunities that provide pathways for others to live, work and enjoy their own families and friends. And yes, it can be done here. “I am a huge promoter of Peoria. I couldn’t do any of this to this degree in another place,” she said. “All of these blessings I have, it’s my duty to give back and share what I’ve learned. My seat at the table, my niche, is Latinos and women. But I want everyone to take a seat and share their ideas. “We have problems, yes. But our problems are everyone’s problems. We have a duty to work together. Peoria is for everybody. Come join us.”

Kirk Wessler is a former newspaper sports editor who has turned his attention in semi retirement to a new passion as a singer/ songwriter

SEPTEMBER 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE 27