PHOENIX — Chef Silvana Salcido Esparza is ready to live life on her own terms, telling 12News’ Allison Rodriguez it was time to do what she needed for herself.
Salcido Esparza opened Barrio Café in 2002, located in Phoenix off of 16th Street near Thomas Road.
She’s long had a passion for food, growing up in her father’s bakery. As a teen, she started making carnitas and discovered her love of low riders.
"I'd get those things going and then I'd go cruise main street. Come back, turn them over, go cruise main street a couple of times. That's how I cook carnitas 'cause it's low and slow, just like I went down main," Salcido Esparza said.
But food was another love she couldn't ignore. She wanted to better understand her culture, and the food and where it came from. She trekked throughout Mexico, learning along the way.
Until one day she found herself driving in Phoenix this empty building that would become Barrio Cafe.
"I drove by, and I said, 'circle back.' I knew in my pit that this was going to be my restaurant," she said.
Since announcing the closing, Salcido Esparza said the outpouring of love and support has moved her.
"I am blown away by the amount of love, and I'm appreciating," she said.
Salcido Esparza is living with an incurable disease, and she wants to spend the time she has left focusing on the next chapter, which is writing several books, spending time in Mexico and of course, more time to cruise.
She will keep her house here and owns the building where Barrio Café opened. She handpicked the next chef who will open a new restaurant in the space and said if you love Mexican food, 16th Street in Phoenix is where to go.
"It has the best dining, de pico a pico Mexicano in all the valley,” she proclaimed.
The restaurant's official last day will be Friday, May 31, then she will host a celebration a few days later.
She’s still putting the finishing touches on her book but said it should be available for preorder on Amazon starting May 5.
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