PHOENIX – Arizona has roughly half a million small businesses, a quarter of which are Spanish-owned.
Fernando Hernandez is one of those Hispanic business owners who came to the United States from Mexico at the age of 10 and grew up undocumented in Arizona.
The 36-year-old recently became a legal permanent resident and was able to visit his birthplace, Chihuahua, for the first time in 23 years.
“I just fell in love,” he told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “It’s almost as if it were a journey on which I re-establish my roots.”
“I reconnected to aspects of my culture that I had an idea of, but for the first time I was able to experience, explore and relive all of that. It just filled me. “
His trips to Chihuahua sparked the idea of opening his own restaurant.
Not only did he want to give people a taste of Chihuahua while reconnecting with his culture, he wanted to give his place of birth “his real name”.
Hernandez stated that the US State Department has been warning against traveling to Chihuahua for years. The agency is currently advising travelers to reconsider visiting the state for crime and kidnapping.
He said it wasn’t his experience at all.
Instead, he said he felt the warmth of the people there and saw breathtaking landscapes and waterfalls, including Cascada de Basaseachi.
The grand opening of Hernandez’s restaurant – called Testal – took place last October at the Desert Sun Plaza on Grand Avenue in Phoenix.
“Testal is the little ball of dough that you first make and then flatten to make a tortilla,” explained Hernandez.
The restaurant mainly serves burritos and gorditas, traditional dishes in Chihuahua, and the food his mother Ana made for him and his sister when they were kids. She is behind the recipes and the cooking in the restaurant.
“It’s what my kids grew up eating, and it means a lot to me that the people who eat here like it,” she said.
Hernandez described his mother as “the backbone” of the restaurant.
“When you come here, you will eat in my mother’s kitchen,” he said.
The restaurant also offers aguas frescas made from toasted corn powder called pinole and the bar serves drinks made with Stotol liqueur. Both are common in Chihuahua.
In addition to the food, the restaurant also features murals of the beautiful landscapes in Chihuahua and a small market with local jewelry, clothing, and other items that Hernandez brings when he visits.
It’s his way of making customers feel like they are in Chihuahua when they visit Testal.
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