![]() Red Iguana 2 recently added a large dining room with a 13-seat bar and an outdoor patio. Between the three restaurants, Red Iguana employs 170 people and averages at least 1,000 customers per day, Cardenas said. A third Salt Lake City location, Taste of Red Iguana at the City Creek Center food court, came in March 2010 when the downtown mall opened. It's also one of the reasons Cardenas and Coker opened Red Iguana 2 in 2009, just a few blocks away at 866 W. Its slogan, after all, is "Killer Mexican Food That's Worth the Wait." There will usually be a long line along North Temple to get a table at Red Iguana."He tastes and checks in with customers and gives it a thumbs up or thumbs down." Ramón Sr., now in his 80s, still comes in regularly, says his daughter. My brother just had them in his head," said Cardenas, who forced her father to come out of retirement and help her reconstruct the recipes, this time writing them down. At that time, many customers, employees - and even some within the Cardenas family - worried if the restaurant would be able to continue. died unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage at 42. While the current eight-cook kitchen structure seems brilliant now, it was born out of tragedy and necessity. In 1998, María's health began to decline and she needed full-time care from her husband until her death in 2002. North Temple, where it quickly developed a cultlike following. It did well and the family was able to close the ailing Casa Grande.Ī fire burned the Red Iguana in 1986 and it was moved to its flagship spot at 736 W. That's when Ramón opened a small, four-table restaurant on Salt Lake City's west side and called it Red Iguana. washed glasses, seated customers and learned duties in the kitchen.Ĭasa Grande operated successfully for some 15 years until urban blight and the recession hit. It was a classic family business as their children - Lucy and Ramón Jr. The lead cooks are continuing the roots that were established in 1965 when Ramón and María moved from San Francisco and took over the Casa Grande restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City. ![]() "Everyone has a good time, but also works really hard." "It's a good team," she said through an interpreter. While she has always been passionate about food, she has "been learning a lot" as a lead cook. ![]() The 37-year-old has been a lead cook for six years after working a year as a prep cook. ![]() ![]() "They are the heart and soul of the restaurant," he said, referring to the group as a sort of "think tank," sharing their oral and culinary traditions and inspiring new dishes that show up as daily specials, at catered events or to the already diverse menu that pulls from all parts of Mexico's culinary heritage, from Baja to the Yucatán.Ĭonsider the beef barbacoa special recently, a dish created by Nancy Najera, who was born and raised in Guerrero, a city near Acapulco. All were born in Mexico and are encouraged to bring the flavors of their specific home regions to the restaurant, explains Matt Hewitt, the director of kitchen operations. Some of the lead cooks have been with Red Iguana more than a decade the newest member has been on board less than six months. The system keeps the Cardenas family recipes alive - and consistent - as the business expands and employees come and go, says Cardenas, who along with her husband, Bill Coker, purchased the business from her parents, Ramón and María Cardenas, in 2005. The six men and two women are in charge of preparing all the Red Iguana specialties, from the rich moles and chile verde to the popular cochinita pibil - slow-roasted pork rubbed with achiote, orange juice and spices. "It's a team effort," explains co-owner Lucy Cardenas. ![]()
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