Her father, Brent Horton, moved to Melbourne from the United States in 1959 where he and his friend, Bill Chilcote, decided that Melbourne needed to be introduced to authentic Mexican cuisine and 'frozen margaritas'. Together they established the first licensed Mexican restaurant in St Kilda in 1980. From there, they continued to grow and go from strength to strength within the industry together and independently. By 1990, her parents had branched out even further, starting up their own group of Mexican restaurants around Melbourne. Lori helped them when she was 10 years old, at 14, she began bussing tables one or two nights a week after school. In 2003, Lori and her parents had the fortunate opportunity to purchase Mexicali Rose on Swan Street in Richmond. The success of Mexicali Rose has been carried on with the same authentic dishes that were served all those years ago as well as Nuevo cocina dishes too. The use of the freshest produce and the importance of visual presentation of every dish is still a top priority.