Feature Story

First-generation film graduate brings cinematic eye to Denton restaurant's social media

(DENTON, Texas – Sept. 9, 2025) It is 11:30 a.m. and lunch comes to mind, but what will you eat? When decision fatigue hits, many people check out restaurants on social media. After a few swipes in, a plate filled with vibrant green bell peppers, onions and fajita steak with the perfect amount of grill marks grabs your attention. As the eyes begin to explore the photo, a faint sizzle from the fajitas and smokey flavors take over the nose. Suddenly, the only flavors that are appealing now are those marinated skirt steaks and green bell peppers.

Creating that craving is exactly what social media managers aim for when creating content. By curating high quality content, the audience feels as if they are already there and experiencing things first hand.

Justin Jimenez is a social media manager for a new restaurant called Mexican Oak on the Denton Square. He is a first generation graduate out of UT Austin, where he studied as a film major. Jimenez is one of many to defy the odds and complete his bachelor’s degree.

According to FirstGen Forward, first-generation students graduate at a rate of 24% versus 59% for continuing-generation students.

Before working with the company, Jimenez was working as a freelancer to build his portfolio. During this time, he worked on several projects, including doing cinematography and directing on a couple music videos. Jimenez took a leap to advertise his skills individually. He truly pushed himself to be better at his craft and flourished.

While his current position is more of a marketing role, his true passions are within filmography.

“I always thought that the idea of behind-the-scenes work was interesting, even though I didn’t understand it at the time. But I liked the idea of Hollywood magic,” says Jimenez. “I never thought that I would major in film in college, though. I was always into films, especially horror movies. My mom got me into horror movies.”

Jimenez learned over the years the hard work and struggle to overcome adversity. His parents originally immigrated from Costa Rica in the 1990s and had to adapt to a new country and language. They came to the U.S. with limited education. Jimenez’s dad was forced out of school during the sixth grade, and his mom earned just a high school diploma.

Brandon Bohannan, Mexican Oak's owner and family friend has known the Jimenez family for many years and watched him grow up.

“He saw in his mom’s work ethic what it takes to follow your passions and how much work it takes to make it; we are proud of him,” says Bohannan.

Jimenez followed his passions and discovered film and marketing to be very closely aligned, just catered to different audiences and formatting. It’s obvious that Jimenez has found a way to transfer his cinematography skills to marketing in a way that still fuels his passions.

Jimenez believes the key is the use of vibrant colors, and extreme attention to detail. This strategy is to ensure that the content grabs audience’s interest while scrolling.

This strategy has helped boost Mexican Oak. The restaurant was started by Bohannan and executive chef Jorge Romero.

Since its doors opened July 4, Jimenez has been pulling late nights to keep up with business demand. As Halloween approaches, his team is cooking up some unique ideas to help Mexican Oak stand out in an exciting way.

One thing is for certain, Jimenez’s social media posts have certainly generated some excitement for both him and the restaurant. Jimenez’s story is one of many first-generation students who inspire young people in the community.

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Meet a first-gen social media manager turning a brand new restaurant into everyone's feed obsession. Spoiler: it involves A LOT of food styling, and even more retakes. 

Read the full story 👇#FirstGeneration 

I believe Denton Record-Chronicle and Richardson Today would be good choices to cover this feature story because Justin Jimenez is a Richardson alumni and part of the brand new restaurant of the Denton Square. Denton Record Chronicle happens to feature many businesses on Denton Square.