Rico Brand & Frida Bistro - Mexican Food and the American Dream

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Jul 13

Photo courtesy of Rico Brand

Jorge Fierro has an incredible story. He left university in Chihuahua, Mexico in his early twenties to start a new life chapter in the United States, despite his parents' desire to have him complete his studies at law school to become an attorney. When he arrived in America, he spent his nights on the streets and in homeless shelters while he learned English and struggled to find a way to make ends meet. His first job was herding sheep in rural Wyoming, before he finally made his way to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Ten years later, in 1985, Jorge opened Rico Brand -- a small pinto bean distributor bent on bringing authentic Mexican Food to the United States. Slowly, Rico evolved. First, as a market in downtown Salt Lake City where he made authentic, fresh, ready-to-eat Mexican food that he sold to customers who came by his store or stopped by his booth at the Farmer's Market. A few years in, he finally caught his big break when a Smith's executive contacted him with an inquiry to carry his food in one of their stores. And the rest is history.

Today, Rico Brand is a multi-million dollar success story located in the Granary District with large manufacturing and distributing arm and sister company, Frida Bistro, that serves up high-end, creative Mexican Cuisine in a sit-down, fine dining environment.

On this episode of The Utah Foodie Podcast, we hear from Jorge firsthand his story about his pursuit of the American Dream, starting a food distributing company, and eventually launching a restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City.

This episode of The Utah Foodie was hosted by Chase Murdock and produced by Ryan Samanka. Visit our episode archive on Ventricle Presents, and stay connected with us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

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