Nixta Taqueria: Cultural Authenticity, Community Support, and Adaptive Resilience

Key Quotes

"I remember going back there and my uncle was just like peel back the stalk and I was like okay and I remember just pulling it back and seeing like purple corn for the first time and I was like whoa I didn't I didn't even realize there was purple corn you know keep going back and then you started seeing like these cross pollinators of like a black and purple corn and keep going a little farther and you see a red corn and it was just one of those experiences where I was like whoa okay there's something to this seeding then a few hours later that night to have a meal with those tortillas that his wife made and it was at that point that I was like oh this is it this is now what I want to focus my attention on nixtamalization of corn tortillas and then I went deep into the rabbit hole"

Edgar Rico describes the transformative moment he discovered the diversity of corn during a trip to Mexico. This experience sparked his passion for nixtamalization, the ancient process of treating corn to make masa for tortillas, which became the foundational focus for his culinary future. Rico's narrative highlights how a personal journey of discovery led to a deep commitment to a specific, traditional food preparation technique.

"I had you know started my journey um in oklahoma and tulsa uh eventually got into finance moved into event management moved into south by southwest moved into hr and for us it just seemed really like a yin and yang situation one of the first reasons I think we I did fall in love with you he made me a french omelet and I was like okay yeah this is this is I can get used to no color on it perfect yeah for sure perfect so we we knew he had this like very special talent he's been cooking since he's 10 years old I call myself an expert generalist where my dad always told me anyone can learn anything and so I sort of took that mentality all throughout my life"

Sarah Mardanbigi explains her diverse professional background and how her "expert generalist" mindset, instilled by her father, prepared her for entrepreneurship. She contrasts her broad skill set with Edgar Rico's deep culinary talent, framing their partnership as a complementary "yin and yang." Mardanbigi's interpretation of their relationship emphasizes how varied experiences and a belief in continuous learning contributed to their ability to build a business together.

"The Way Up is a new video series from Square highlighting the real stories of grit, vision, growth, and heart behind some of America’s most innovative local businesses."

This statement from the episode description defines the purpose of "The Way Up" series. It positions the series as a platform for showcasing the authentic journeys of entrepreneurs, emphasizing qualities like resilience, innovation, and passion. The description sets the stage for understanding the narrative focus on the challenges and successes of local businesses.

"We had originally asked I think for we didn't know now we're like okay maybe 50k just permitting alone is about 15 000 for it to get approved electrical structural plumbing it all one can't get done without the other so we went to um crowdfunding and within two days we had raised 120 000 and that I i bawled my eyes out i i was just so overwhelmed that they were there you know that's the best in people somebody wrote on the crowdfunding site you all fed us when we were frozen you figured out how to make curbside happen when people were sick you feed the community with the fridge and pantry you lift other area chefs up so at least we could do yeah I still get emotional thinking about it because we had to have this conversation with our team we don't know if we're going to open we don't know when we'll open you're thinking 30 people who are depending on you and you don't have any answers"

Sarah Mardanbigi recounts the overwhelming community support received during a crowdfunding campaign to repair their restaurant after a prolonged power outage. She details the initial financial needs for permitting and repairs, highlighting the unexpected success of their crowdfunding effort. Mardanbigi's emotional response underscores the deep connection between the restaurant and its community, emphasizing how patrons rallied to support them in a time of existential crisis.

"I think we always talk about uh preservation versus evolution and being really cognizant about what are these opportunities and does it align with what we want to do going through that re permitting kind of killed my spirit a little but I'm bouncing back but I think eventually we talked about doing the inverse of nixta which is instead of mex mostly mexican with a little bit of persian it's mostly persian with a little bit of mexican so that would be my little food baby we're very excited we're tinkering with that right now i've running it as a pop up and seeing the reception that it's getting and we're like okay i think i think the us is ready for some persian food in its life because it's not well represented at all you don't really see too many persian restaurants throughout the us and the ones that you do they're usually masked as mediterranean or or it's pretty much generally the same menu of like grilled kebabs but there's so much more depth to persian food than just kebabs so we're excited to share that with the world"

Edgar Rico discusses his future culinary vision, balancing the preservation of Nixta Taqueria's identity with the evolution of new concepts. He reveals plans for a new venture that would invert Nixta's Mexican-Persian fusion, focusing primarily on Persian cuisine with Mexican influences. Rico expresses excitement about introducing a more diverse and less represented culinary tradition to the American public, highlighting the depth of Persian food beyond common perceptions.