Food
| Recommended 
A family’s love cooks up a restaurant from scratch
03:45 PM EDT on Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Maria Meza and son, Joaquin Meza, Jr., at El Rancho Grande. Joaquin bought and renovated the Plainfield Street building for his mother. The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo
It would be hard to find a more giving son than Joaquin Meza, Jr.
But then, he’d be the first to tell you that his mother Maria is pretty wonderful. She cared well for her four children, all the while working double shifts to help support them financially. Long before the kids, she learned to cook to please her husband. And most importantly, she set a living and loving example that as long as you have family, you have everything you need.
The oldest son of the Meza family bought a rundown building at 311 Plainfield St. that housed an out-of-business restaurant and for more than two years worked at night, after a day at his “real job,” to transform it into a lovely Mexican cantina. All so his mother could retire from her grueling factory work and realize her dream to become Chef Maria and share her home-style cooking in her restaurant. The hours are probably longer than at any other job, but not only is El Rancho Grande her own business, it’s her passion.
Proving that determination can bring you far, mother and son, and the rest of the family, just celebrated the first anniversary of the Providence restaurant that sits at the corner of Plainfield Street and Pocasset Avenue.
Extra
Of course, having fabulous enchiladas, seafood and mole sauce doesn’t hurt either. Maria makes everything from scratch and grates every cheese, chops every pepper, peels every garlic clove and uses no recipes, scales or measuring spoons. She tastes everything to adjust flavors until they are just perfect, all of which she does with a smile.
“You have to be happy to make tamales,” she said.
Maria takes the most pride in her mole poblano, the rich, chocolate-tinged, poblano chile sauce which is served with chicken breast and garnished with sesame seeds. She won’t even talk on the days she’s blending her mole sauce, instead choosing to concentrate on all those fresh ingredients and steps that make it her signature.
She is proud to relate that mole originated in her hometown of Puebla, Mexico, in the southeastern part of the nation. That is where she learned to cook but not as young as one would think. Though her mother and aunts owned small restaurants and she grew up with all their big cooking, it was only when she became smitten with the man who would become her husband, Joaquin Sr, that she learned to cook. She was 25 years old.
Now 56, she and her husband and four children Joaquin, Isabel, Jose and Marco, arrived in Rhode Island from Mexico in 1991. Both she and her husband took jobs, often working those double shifts, to support the family. In between shifts, Maria would come home and cook for her family before returning to work, Joaquin said. It was a source of inspiration for the family.
“As soon as we came here, she always wanted to own something,” Joaquin said.
Her husband continues to work his factory job days but comes and helps out at the restaurant in the evenings.
“Most of the time you only see my mother, but behind her there is a loving family working together to fulfill our dream,” Joaquin said.
Maria is not only the chef but the face of the restaurant. Arriving by 7:30 each morning and working until the last dinner is over after 10 p.m. She serves breakfast because she figures she is in the restaurant early anyway. She offers a breakfast burrito, huevos rancheros, breakfast tacos and enchiladas and steak and eggs.
Though she gets busy there in the kitchen, she always finds time to come out and greet diners in the 45-seat restaurant. Being a host is a point of pride for her.
“God gave me the energy,” she said. “When I think my son did all this for me and that everyone in the family helped, I want to be here,” she said.
As Maria looks around the restaurant, she notes the special touches she mentioned to her son not intending for him to create, like matching arches, one over the bar and the other leading to the kitchen.
Joaquin, 27, is in the construction business and it was in 2005 that his mother mentioned the vacant restaurant and building. She said she thought it was for rent but it was for sale. She was surprised when Joaquin and his wife, Kimberly Gilo, refinanced their home to make the purchase. With stringent fire regulations and a building in more disrepair than was obvious to the naked eye, he embarked on a long construction odyssey. Every step along the way there were more surprises and more costs.
“He kept saying ‘Mummy, don’t worry,’ ” Maria said.
All the work was done simply with help from family and friends. His father most often did the clean-up after a day working at his other job. They exhausted every penny they had saved.
But it helps to have friends and the Mezas have a good one in Juan Garcia, proprietor of La Poblanita Bakery on Academy Avenue in Providence, who helped them with wholesale purchases to stock the restaurant. Garcia began his bakery in 1996 and has expanded it several times. He has been a great mentor.
El Rancho Grande has a wine and beer license, but Joaquin said customers ask for margaritas. Zoning doesn’t allow for a full liquor license, he said.
Salted rims or not, business has grown from neighborhood customers to diners from Massachusetts and “all over” who seek out authentic, family-style dishes that Maria creates in her small kitchen. Having weathered the tough first year, mother and son are optimistic that business will continue to thrive.
Not surprisingly, the Mezas will spend Mother’s Day catering to diners. While all mothers will get roses, those who come in to dine with their families will get a free cake for dessert.
“If the family is together, everything grows,” Maria said.
Details: El Rancho Grande, 311 Plainfield St., Providence, (401) 275-0808, www.elranchogrande
restaurant.com. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
More food stories
Most Viewed Yesterday
The hunt for Stephen Saccoccia’s hidden assets
Vehicle fatalities climb in R.I.
Suspect shot during struggle with undercover officer
Patriots journal: Belichick says Moss is smartest receiver he’s seen
Most active surveys
Are the Yankees on the brink of another dynasty?
Is it a bad thing or a good thing that prostitution is legal in Rhode Island, indoors?
What's your favorite breakfast/lunch place?
React to Carcieri's veto of R.I.'s first saltwater fishing license
Has your behavior changed in light of the swine flu outbreak?
Most e-mailed in the last 24 hours
Reader Reaction
You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name