Madison's Mexican Spice Expanding, Moving To Chatham

MADISON—A local caterer has managed to not only survive, but thrive and expand during tough times for the food industry.

Mexican Spice is the creation of sisters Andrea Teutli and Jennifer Alarcon, both born in Mexico City. Andrea said they started Mexican Spice six years ago because there was a lack of authentic Mexican food in the Madison area.

After Jennifer repeatedly wowed friends with her Mexican dishes, she decided to take her food to local farmer's markets in Madison and Summit. When that was a success, the sisters rented a commercial kitchen on Cross Street and began catering and selling packaged meals. Four years ago, the business acquired a taco truck, and another avenue opened up.

"We started doing weddings, birthday parties, block parties," Teutli said, "and a lot of festivals with the truck."

When the pandemic began earlier this year, as most food establishments were closing and their owners stressed about revenue, Mexican Spice was well positioned.

"We had the packaged meals," Teutli said, "and we had started doing take out a few months earlier, and that was going well. So when covid hit, we were ready for it."

Of course, the cancellation of public gatherings took a toll on the business, and Teutli said it's possible that that portion may not come back.

"We had catering events booked every weekend," she said, "so we did get tremendously hit by that, but that's when we really pushed the delivery and takeout."

With the pandemic peaking in New Jersey, however, Mexican Spice was at a crossroads; outgrowing a location was normally a good thing, but those were not normal times. To supplement a badly needed move to a bigger space, the sisters decided to start a crowdfunding campaign. They were stunned by the results.

"We had a goal of $32,000," Teutli said, "and in three days, we reached our goal. That was heart-warming, and we were reassured that moving to the bigger space in Chatham was the right thing to do."

Mexican Spice's new location on Main Street in Chatham will open soon. Teutli said it's more than just an eatery, it's versatile.

"It's gonna be a small restaurant with a few tables, but it's really mainly like a place where we're unifying our services," she said. "But people can come in and place an order to go or grab a quick, authentic Mexican taco, too."

Teutli clarified that, looking to the future, she and Alarcon are as committed to the community as the community is to them.

"Of course we're interested in growing," she said, "but we're not looking to expand into New York City, we're looking to grow locally."

This article originally appeared on the Madison Patch