San Carlos: The Restaurant Scene

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[00:00:28] This podcast is your compass to navigating the exciting journey to San Carlos, Mexico living. Get ready to turn your relocation dreams into sun soaked reality.

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[00:00:57] Alex Mendoza: Well, myself, normally I don't do this. I'm [00:01:00] very reserved, very private. Uh, I guess I've built confidence throughout my life.

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[00:01:32] And so we went through the whole process of, you know, crossing the border through the tunnel and taxis on top of each other, hiding in apartments and just, you know, at risk of losing your life, you know, being young, it was a big. You know, trauma. So once we got to the States, our, our world just changed, you know, because in Oaxaca, we didn't have education.

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[00:02:14] And so he took us to Phoenix and that's where, Everything just changed. It was a whole different experience, uh, coming from no power, no television. Uh, what do you call it? Uh, just, you know, no education, you know, I feel like. Once we got there, we had to learn how to read, how to write, how to do everything, but in a different language.

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[00:02:34] Rob DeForge: That's a huge culture shock, isn't it?

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[00:02:53] So we were sent back a year and pretty much start with an ESL program that the school was [00:03:00] providing and just pretty much start learning the language and pretty much learning how to read and write. And so that's why I feel like my Spanish is very limited in some words. I know it's very strong, but there's some words that I'm like, ah, what's that meaning or like, how do we like proper writing it with grammar?

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[00:03:18] Rob DeForge: sure.

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[00:03:22] Rob DeForge: That's interesting. That's a little

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[00:03:33] Rob DeForge: Okay. And, uh, at that time you came back to Mexico.

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[00:03:40] Uh, I left home because, you know, I came out of the closet. Uh, my family was not, um, supportive. Uh, they didn't expect this because it's what has always been very religious. The family's Jehovah's Witness and that was a no, no, completely no, no, we were all raised, you know, very dedicated [00:04:00] to the religion and, uh, it was prohibited, you know, I was pretty much the one, I guess the black sheep out of the family and I kind of like said, you know what, I'm working, I started working when I was 11 with landscaping, we started working in the States, you know, Uh, helping with landscaping on the weekends with my uncles, you know, supporting the family.

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[00:04:37] And I have been. You know, full time parents was very difficult. So everything that we needed was to, we had to work for, you know, kind of, so we started working early. And so by the time I was turned 17, I was working, uh, in a really good, um, uh, place. I, I became a CNA when I graduated from high school. And I got a really nice job in a [00:05:00] medical field, uh, just pretty much being a health care provider.

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[00:05:24] That kind of affected me though, because, um, when I turned 21, I had to, uh, renew my visas and, uh, process the paperwork. But, um, there was problems with the paperwork that we filed because, um, I guess my uncle filed. Like, uh, adoption, uh, uh, like an adoption process in, in, uh, in, uh, in Oaxaca, but they never followed through with the paperwork.

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[00:06:12] They found different, you know, like, uh, they found my original father's birth certificate and then they found a copy of the new birth certificate that my uncle had filed as an adopt, you know, as an adopted. And so, but it wasn't like, it wasn't done properly. And so immigration took that as if we were trying to do like a fragile documentation.

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[00:06:57] And uh, so I didn't go [00:07:00] to the appointment. I was scared also now, you know, to come back or having to leave the states and that was my biggest fear and I think that's anyone who goes through that process and I'm talking about it right now because I just kind of helped two immigrants, uh, this week that, you know, have come up to me and said, you know, I need help, blah, blah.

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[00:07:43] I just keep that within myself. And so that day at 8 45 in the morning, because I was working, I did a night shift, I would do like 12 hour shifts. I can get. Kind of work out of the way and focus on school. Uh, immigration came and got me at work. And, uh, and so that same [00:08:00] day, 1145 at night, I was in Nogales homeless, nothing on me and like pretty much lived there for almost a month, you know, just begging and help looking for help.

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[00:08:21] Alex Mendoza: exactly. Yes.

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[00:08:45] So, but I can see where. Your path has helped you, helped you develop a lot of character because of the adversity, right?

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[00:09:05] He died in an accident and he died in front of us. We were, I was five years old and he pretty much hemorrhaged in front of us. And so I always say, What's the worst that can happen to you if it's already happened, you know, and you don't know, you just can't lose hope though, you can't lose faith and you can't lose that, you know, that mindset, you know, putting yourself down or depressed or become depressed, you know, you can't, it's hard, but you can allow it.

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[00:09:54] What, what drew you to that?

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[00:10:14] And so, uh, I became like a general manager for the quality department for the, um, uh, for this printing shop. It's called fortune fashion. They did t shirts for Tommy Bahama, Walt Disney world target. And so I was pretty much the channel of communication between the companies and the, services. Uh huh. So, but I met someone who has lived here.

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[00:11:00] Living here before we opened the restaurant,

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[00:11:12] Alex Mendoza: Calibri, uh, that has a story. Yeah. Calibri has a story anywhere I go. I've always lived, um, uh, being raised in a position where you just have to have faith, you, or you have to have imagination, create your imagination and just kind of keep that, um, uh, magic going.

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[00:11:53] You can be an inspiration of anything. So when I was actually building the restaurant and going through the, um, uh, [00:12:00] Um, going through the renovations and remodeling, uh, putting the project together itself. It was actually going to be four partners. The restaurant itself was going to be four partners. It was going to be Ramon Cruz with his wife, ex wife, and uh, who had pool house and La Playa who used to, that was next door, which was forever happy.

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[00:12:44] I love cooking. Uh, I learned how to cook through my mom. She would always, um, make, uh, She would cook to sell food, you know, and so I would always help her make and prep and so we would always form a semi line and we would [00:13:00] prep food like tamales, tacos, uh, you know, whatever you can think of, pozole, menudo, and so we would go to different places.

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[00:13:34] And then it was just myself and my partner, but we were also going through, um, uh, problems. We were also in the process, and I kind of saw that it was a transition of change where we're going to be separating because this was going to be like our window of opportunity of fixing things, but also fixing our relationship.

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[00:14:19] I was, I wasn't well also because I was having problems with my relationship. And then also I had, um, uh, I left my job that I found here, um, uh, to, uh, so I can dedicate, you know, the restaurant, you have to be hands on 100%. You can't just open and leave it and expect your workers or your staff. It's not the same thing.

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[00:15:03] And it felt like an endless, because it was just money going into the, into the place. And then I was like, Oh my God, I can't do this. It's just too much, too. You know, it's, I'm not ready for this. So I had the doors open and this little hummingbird, just, I would see it around always. And I always, like I said, every time I see a hummingbird, it always brings me inspiration and reminder, you know, there's possibilities, there's always something.

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[00:15:46] And so for Mexicans, a hummingbird is like a gate of another world. And so I didn't know that about hummingbirds and what the Mexicans believed. And so, they just started [00:16:00] telling me stories about hummingbirds, and what kind of, the miracles, witches, they told me a story where witches used to hunt them to take their little hearts, so they can use that as black power, black magic, I was like, what, really?

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[00:16:31] And because he couldn't find his way outside the building. So, um, and every time I would let him out, he would just stand on my hand and just kind of stare at me, just kind of stare at me, just kind of stare at me and just wouldn't leave. And I would have to like go like this so I can, so he can just fly, you know, and so I didn't think much about it back then, but I was thinking a lot about my family because it was, you know, it's been years since I had seen anyone.

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[00:17:23] I mean, we do have a house there, but our house there is just a small little ranch style house that's been closed since my father died. And so I was just pretty much like, I didn't know what to do if I didn't know if I was should stay here or should I not and so I started praying a lot. I started, I always, you know, even though my religion didn't accept me, I still believe in Jehovah.

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[00:18:16] Like he's here to visit me, he's telling me a message that I belong here. And then a lot of things that I researched about the, the, the, yeah, the hummingbirds. Things just started happening where I say, no, I know the name of the restaurant. I'm going to name it Hummingbirds Bolivari. And then I said, you know what?

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[00:18:51] And I have this project that I have to build and I, you know, it's just, it just happened that way. And so I said, this is what's going to be the name of the restaurant, the name of the [00:19:00] restaurant, the concept, the colors, and I just started putting my little concept here because I didn't really know what was going to happen.

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[00:19:12] Rob DeForge: That's a great story. That's, that's great. How would you describe the Calibri dining experience?

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[00:19:27] I like bringing different stuff and bringing, uh, new flavors. You know, this, the savory of, um, Sweet and sour, uh, salty and, you know, things that can clash with themselves. You can, you know, so what I found out also with Zancardo's was not, there's, there weren't many options back then. Right now there's a few more options, but, uh, everyone sold hot dogs, burgers, uh, what do you call it, uh, fries and pizza, you know?

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[00:20:09] So I'm making a gelato with pumpkin spice. I'm going to be making like a hummus with pumpkin. So I try to use, um, uh, things that it's coming available and by the season, because there's a lot of stuff here you can't get also, you know, we're right now we have Sam's and Walmart, but that's only been around for about 12 years to here and YMS and Carlos.

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[00:20:48] And I still do. Like, every morning, I go select the produce, I select the I try to select everything because, you know, and I don't freeze anything. I have to I don't If I ran out during the day, you know, I have You [00:21:00] know, 10 fillets or 8 fillets, I ran out, I'm out because I don't like keeping that. You know, after 3 days the flavor is not right, the consistency is not right.

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[00:21:11] Rob DeForge: Is there a signature dish at Colibri? Any kind of like your name

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[00:21:30] I guess one of the struggles that we did go through, and we still do go through, is trying to get tarragon, to make the beurre naissance. That's something you have to order. You have to order and have it on stock. And it's dry tarragon that I use. That's something that you can't find. If you go to Sam's, there may, you may get a little bottle, but that's not enough too.

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[00:21:54] Rob DeForge: I cook a lot as well. Yeah. There there are ingredients that can be challenging. [00:22:00] So if, if I, if I have a trip to Hermosillo, I, I make sure I look around up there as well and try to find it.

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[00:22:05] Alex Mendoza: exactly. Try to find things, you know, things that you don't normally find here.

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[00:22:17] Alex Mendoza: Oh, I work strongly with the community. I think, um, uh, once I started opening the restaurant, um, uh, the community has supported me and, uh, they guide me through every, cause it's, it's so small that everyone knows everyone and everyone's involved.

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[00:22:55] And so we started working with all those nonprofits and I feel like [00:23:00] my lifestyle has always taught me that, you know, if you can give. Then why not? You know, support as much as you can, because you never know what and what shoes you're going to be tomorrow or the next day. So always support it as much as you can.

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[00:23:27] Alex Mendoza: Yeah, right now, yeah, you have to evolve. You can't stay stagnant. You know, I've changed. When I first opened, it was about, I had 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 tables and the bar inside the main room.

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[00:23:59] But then I [00:24:00] saw the, the demand on other dishes. And so then I started doing samples and then I started, you know, kind of going through that phase of growing and evolving. Eventually I now expanded to two new locations where now I have the bar for service and, but also sitting and I'm involving that space right now.

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[00:24:38] It was a struggle. So then I talked to the, you know, to the owner of the plaza with my lease. You know, you know, I can't support it. I'm not being able to support my, uh, my clients and they can't go upstairs. So I kind of negotiated, you know, the kind of like the exterior part of the Plaza so I can use for sitting, you know, and so it's, it's been involved.

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[00:25:18] And so it's going to be a whole different printout. And so, and then I also, I'm changing the bar. I want to make it more like a, like a, I say like the little hummingbird nest because I have a lot of ladies that come and play cards. So I'm putting like tables there. And then upstairs, I'm going to open it for the community, for the young community, for the community, where people can have little private dates or can rent the space and use it.

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[00:25:46] Rob DeForge: I love to set up there. So, you know, Alex, there's a lot of conversation out there around sustainability. Um, how does that fit in with Calibri or, or does it,

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[00:25:59] [00:26:00] Sustainability,

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[00:26:24] Alex Mendoza: Well, you know, it's hard to do that because there's, I don't think we have like a system in place by the government here. And so you get involved as much as you can. Like my boxes, I collect them and then they come and pick them up so that uh, they can, they can be reused, you know? Yes. And then I also get involved more a lot with which I'm gonna start scheduling a lot of cleanups on Carlos and just kind of helping go pick up trash and you know, promote them more, you know, because that needs to happen also, because the community itself, we get a lot of visitors and unfortunately they do leave a mess, you know, and that's where us, the residents have to kind of step, step up and uh, [00:27:00] it kinda help.

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[00:27:20] So that way there's no, Sewer problems also, you know, so that's what I try to focus also.

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[00:27:36] Alex Mendoza: I think every place has a great, um, atmosphere. I love going to other places.

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[00:27:59] And then [00:28:00] also, and I always tell my staff also, and I try to focus with them and, uh, learning the language, you know, because that opened the doors in my, in my lifestyle, learning English and Spanish has always helped me. But I also, you know, try to merge. And so I always try to do like a community table also when I do events.

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[00:28:34] Because I'm there also, and so they can, you know, I'm the bridge of communication and introduction, you know, this is, and I know this because of this, and you know, and kind of, who doesn't know each other, and then we do an introduction, and they kind of do a little icebreaker and stuff like that, you know, but it's a great community, it's a nice community, and so what's nice is that, uh, the nationals are getting more involved, and I think that's the goal also, to get all the nationals involved.

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[00:28:59] Rob DeForge: There's a lot more [00:29:00] coming here all the time. Oh, yes. All the time. I see it in, you know, in the real estate business, there's more and more people coming from all over. Absolutely. Yes. It's been the hidden gem for so long. You know, I never, I tell people where we are and they say, what? Wait, where? Ca San Carlos?

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[00:29:27] Alex Mendoza: they're great places to vacation because I've been there. But, um, uh, it's not a place to live, you know, for me. No, my, I have cousins there, and so I've gone and visited them, and so I see their lifestyles.

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[00:30:06] So it's what makes the difference on Carlos, you know, it's

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[00:30:34] Alex Mendoza: I feel like I'm, uh, there's a lot of community here and, uh, but, you know, I understand their, uh, their situation because it's not, it's nothing that, uh, has, uh, his has been exploded. For example, even the government right now, I work, I'm working closely with the secretary of tourism to promote it more because there's a lot of, you know, there's a lot of people, you know, there's a lot of businesses also that are.

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[00:31:25] We want to have the opportunity of having a job. We want to have the opportunity of just being, um, being felt part of the community. You know, it's, we're not trying to harm anyone or. Harm anything. We just want to co exist with everything. And so I am getting involved and it was something that I kind of struggled to, um, uh, get, um, uh, get it out there because I have my family background.

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[00:32:07] You know, when I didn't have this, when I do have this kind of events, they come out and they support it and you see, wow, you know, you get young, older, different generations, you know, and it's just amazing. It is amazing, but we do, we're more private. We're more enclosed because like I said, you know, we're afraid, you know, you don't know where you're going to meet with someone who's very, I don't know.

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[00:32:41] Rob DeForge: mean, listen, you're never going to make everybody happy, but I do know, and I've traveled pretty extensively throughout Latin America and that can, there can be a sort of, uh, historically there has been, uh, machismo culture.

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[00:33:25] I don't feel any kind of, uh, attention or, you know, anything going on like where people are going to, they might say things, you know, online when you put a post because everybody's a keyboard warrior, right? You know, you've got that anonymity or whatever, but I think in real life, I've, I've never seen anything negative at all.

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[00:33:54] Alex Mendoza: Right. Right? Yes. Exactly. Yes. And we do need places like that, you know, because there's a lot of families [00:34:00] that need places to go. You know, I know, um, uh, three, um, uh, here right now that are living here that have kids, you know, they're married couples with kids and they're taking them to school.

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[00:34:25] You know, you, they're adopted kids, you know, who are needing that love, who are needing that, um, uh, special care, you know, that's all we want is an opportunity of acceptance, you know, and these are kids that are being adopted and are being raised, you know, with true love, you know, love is love, like we always say.

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[00:34:53] Alex Mendoza: Um, pretty much, you know, uh, food is food. I love, um, food. And, uh, like I said, [00:35:00] it's about playing with flavors. I'm always recommending, uh, Uh, ingredients like bacon and ice cream and, you know, sir, I'm recommending, uh, uh, what do you call it?

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[00:35:14] Rob DeForge: experiment. It sounds like you'd like to. So maybe there can be a little bit of a fusion twist. To your, to your palate, right? Is that a, yeah, exactly. That sounds like it. And

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[00:35:32] And I put it in the oven and just that whole, just changes the whole thing, you know? So you experiment with flavors. And so once they try that, like, oh, they come back, they, they keep coming back for that flavor, you know?

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[00:35:52] Yes, we have

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[00:36:11] And that was just to promote local, um, vendors, local artisans. People who artists local artists. And so this Sunday we have the, uh, our local artwork, a little markets, you know, we've started promoting little markets and people come in and, uh, bring everything they do and they have their business online.

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[00:36:51] So we're working together, you know, as the community. And so, which is also to promote local, consume locally, you know? Yeah,

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[00:37:13] Alex Mendoza: I know. I love art. I like to paint. You should come and paint with us. You know, you can do something, bring something on Wednesday and work on something. My

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[00:37:30] Did you have a wonderful happy hour? I know I'll be there.

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