A Colorado couple who moved from Mexico to the US in 1995 with a dream of giving their three children a different future, have closed the restaurant they built over 31 years.
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they → move → years
Jose and Maria Caballero shut Los Tarascos in Fort Collins, Colorado, after decades of serving Mexican food to the local community.
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Caballero → shut → community
The restaurant close its doors on Wednesday, AOL reported.
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AOL → close → Wednesday
It is about the goal that brought them to Fort Collins in the first place- giving their children the chance to attend college, build careers and have lives outside the family business.
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that → bring → business
"My motivation was always my children, to give them a better life," Maria Caballero told the Coloradoan in an interview conducted in Spanish.
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Caballero → give → Spanish
When the couple arrived from Michoacan, Mexico, they brought their three children, Hugo Caballero Jr, Gema Caballero and Priscilla Umbreit.
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they → arrive → children
They knew little English and were starting a business in a new country.
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They → know → country
Jose already had restaurant experience in Mexico, while Maria had spent much of her life raising their family and was not prepared for the responsibility of helping run a restaurant.
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Maria → have → restaurant
"I wasn't prepared for that responsibility," Maria said.
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Maria → prepare → responsibility
Los Tarascos started in a small location, where Thai Station now operates.
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Station → start → location
Jose and Maria worked while raising their children and learning how to manage life in Fort Collins.
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Jose → work → Collins
They cooked recipes from their families in Mexico, including dishes that came from Maria's mother and Jose's family.
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that → cook → mother
As more relatives came from Mexico, they also joined the restaurant.
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they → come → restaurant
Parents, siblings and other family members helped with the business, making Los Tarascos a family operation from its early years.
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Tarascos → help → years
From humble start to popularity
Building a customer base did not happen immediately.
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Building → build → base
Jose said authentic Mexican food was less common in Fort Collins when the restaurant opened in 1995.
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restaurant → say → 1995
Some dishes were adjusted slightly for local tastes, while the family also introduced customers to the flavours they had grown up eating.
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they → adjust → flavours
Over time, customers began bringing friends.
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customers → begin → friends
The restaurant continued to grow, and
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restaurant → continue → ?
after about 13 years in its first location, the Caballeros needed a larger space.
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Caballeros → need → space
That led them to 622 S. College Ave., where Los Tarascos spent most of its 31-year history.
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Tarascos → lead → history
Another leap in the restaurant's history came with its longtime customer and local businessman Jim Mokler.
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leap → come → customer
When the Caballeros had an opportunity to buy the building, Mokler provided $100,000 to help them secure financing for the purchase.
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them → have → purchase
"He believed in us.
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He → believe → us
That was a moment of growth," Jose said.
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Jose → say → growth
Jose said the family could not have continued without the support of local customers.
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family → say → customers
"Without the community, we wouldn't have survived," he said.
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he → survive → community
That support grew as Los Tarascos became a place where local families gathered for birthdays, anniversaries, business celebrations and Cinco de Mayo events.
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families → grow → birthdays
For the Caballeros, those occasions became part of the restaurant's history.
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occasions → become → history
Los Tarascos started in a small location, where Thai Station now operates (Picture: Public domain)
Margarita recipe that changed the business
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that → start → business
One of the restaurant's biggest changes came from an idea Jose developed before Los Tarascos opened.
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Tarascos → come → idea
He spent months studying successful restaurants and bars and paid particular attention to the margarita programme at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant.
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He → spend → Restaurant
Jose had years of bartending experience in Mexico, so he began developing his own margarita recipes.
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he → have → recipes
He tested them and collected feedback from customers before settling on a recipe that became popular.
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that → test → recipe
"I would sell two gallons of margaritas, maybe.
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I → sell → margaritas
After that, we'd sell eight gallons," Jose recalled.
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Jose → sell → gallons
The increase in margarita sales helped the restaurant grow further.
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restaurant → help → sales
But it changed our life," he said.
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he → change → life
The restaurant later became a place where customers marked important moments in their lives.
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customers → become → lives
Jose recalled weddings, birthdays and anniversaries held there.
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Jose → recall → weddings
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
