There’s no denying the love of Mexican food in the Valley. Most of the restaurants around town are independently owned. They are run by families who want to both make a living as well as share their love of food with the community. And yet, for whatever reason, entities from outside states look at Phoenix and deem it the ideal destination to open satellite locations. Despite the sheer volume of authentic Mexican food, these restaurants move in, as if there’s a gold rush on Mexican cuisine in Arizona. This is happening once again, as a restaurant chain from out of state has moved in and set up shop.
With its flagship location in Colorado, Fiesta Mexicana opened its first venture in the region nearly a decade ago in 2014. Now, the chain has opened a second location in Gilbert. Now, unlike other large chain restaurants that have decided to push into metro Phoenix and the rest of Arizona, Fiesta Mexicana is family owned, by immigrants who moved up from Jalisco, Mexico. The family, when they first arrived, didn’t have any job prospects, so they worked on farms and orchards in Washington state as well as California. They worked the fields in the Pacific Northwest for seven years.
Wanting to get out of the low paying farmhand sector, the two eventually went on to open an auto body shop, despite having zero knowledge on working with cars. In fact, they would accept vehicles, then take the vehicles to another shop in order for not only the other shop to work on the vehicle, but so they could learn what to do. The questionable tactic did help bring in enough money to raise their five children. However, eventually, with the money they had saved up, they eventually opened the first Fiesta Mexicana in Woodland Park, Colorado. With far more knowledge on how to prepare food than work on pickup trucks, the restaurant thrived in Colorado, and they started to expand in the state.
And now, the family-owned restaurant chain has arrived back in metro Phoenix with its latest location. The website has dubbed itself as the “Best Mexican Food in Gilbert” (a bit of a stretch, in that it just opened). It is located at 1017 East Baseline Road and is open Sunday through Thursday, from 11 AM until 9 PM, and on Friday and Saturday, from 11 AM until 10 PM. Happy hour is Monday through Friday, from 2 PM until 5 PM.
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