Aces of Trades: Passion for food, cooking behind Hebron's Caliente Mexican Grill

HEBRON – It all started by helping grandma in the kitchen.

"When I would help her roll breakfast burritos to take out to sell in our small town," Chris Gutierrez said. "It was so heartwarming to see the customers light up with joy and yell out, 'Ofe’s burritos are here!'"

"After I was given the opportunity to work in a restaurant that dream and passion started to grow," he said. "I was 15 when I started working at a family friend’s Mexican restaurant in Sterling, Colorado. My first job was waiting tables, so I learned the hospitality part of the business."

When he moved to the kitchen, his passion for cooking really began to take shape.

"Momma Linda gave me so much creative freedom and at such an early age," Gutierrez said. "She allowed me to design and create a new menu and items, decorate and design the restaurant space and also left me in charge to run the business after I turned 18. She invested in me and gave me the ability to take the passion that started in my grandmother’s kitchen and helped continue that love and passion for cooking."

His wife, Heather Gutierrez, had a simpler reason for her interest in the restaurant business.

"My husband’s passion prompted my interest," she said. "Working alongside my husband is something I enjoy. My first time was in the early 2000s when I first worked in the food industry with my husband. I never thought I would end up in this field."

Today, the couple own and operate Caliente Mexican Grill in Hebron.

The name, by the way, also came from grandma.

"My grandma always made fresh everything, and the temperature was always hot," Chris Gutierrez recalled. "That word "caliente" was said multiple times in the kitchen or at the dinner table. That word just brings me back home to that place where I felt love, hospitality and some good food."

Chris and Heather Gutierrez both grew up in Sterling, Colorado, and attended Sterling High School and Miller Christian Academy. They both worked in banking and finance and pastored for years in Colorado. They came to Ohio about 10 years ago and started Caliente Mexican Grill on May 1, 2021.

"It actually didn’t start out as Caliente," Chris explained. "We purchased Parr’s Pizza. We always had this idea of pizza and Mexican. After purchasing Parr’s and slowly adding the Mexican cuisine, the pizza oven went out, so we decided to scrap the pizza and focus on what I enjoyed most, Mexican food!"

"We do it for many reasons," he added. "First, we love it! Food is something that brings us all together.Food is the passion behind what we do. Plus, we’re carrying on a legacy of recipes that have been passed down from my grandmother."

The couple has recently purchased a food truck, so they can cater and appear at local community events, they said.

"We want to inspire others to dream and step out to their purpose and calling," Heather Gutierrez added. "It truly makes us happy to serve others and be part of their lives."

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com or 740-328-8821.

For info

Caliente Mexican Grill is located at 118 E. Main St. in Hebron. For more information, call 740-822-0008 or go to calientemexhebron.com.

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Aces: Passion for food, cooking behind Hebron's Caliente Mexican Grill