At 82 years old, Felicitas Rubio could choose to knit or play with her cats or even play bingo, but she doesn’t. She’s busy cooking.
One day in 1962, Felicitas’ husband, Jose, received a call that changed their lives. The phone call was from a close friend living in Provo and the subject was something the Rubios were intimately familiar with: food. El Azteca, which was originally located just south of campus at 746 E. 820 North, was the first real Mexican food restaurant in Provo at the time but the restaurant needed help. The Rubio family came to rescue the struggling restaurant and completely took over the business within the next five years. They have never looked back as they approach their 50th anniversary in 2012.
“In the beginning, it was scary,” said Carlos Rubio, current manager and son of Jose and Felicitas Rubio. “Mom and dad had to pick up and move the entire family to America.”
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“We looked at it like a challenge,” Felicitas said. “We joined the [LDS] Church and were excited to move to Utah. We knew people would like the food and we knew we could run a restaurant because that was what we were used to.”
In a quick turnaround kind of miracle, Felicitas and her three daughters arranged to come to Provo and obtained the necessary legal documents in just one month after receiving the phone call about taking over the restaurant.
Although the Rubios did not yet speak English, they went to work bringing tradition with a twist to Provo residents. Jose had an ad printed in the paper that simply said, “New food from Mexico” and it seemed to make the restaurant popular for Provo residents and BYU students in no time, Carlos said.
Kathy Hymas, a BYU graduate and mother of current BYU student, said she loved the food right from the beginning.
“I loved to go there with my family and I loved the chips and salsa,” Hymas said. “It had a nice atmosphere and Mr. Rubio was always extremely kind.” Her son, Jordan Hymas has inherited her love for El Azteca and continues to eat there.
According to Carlos, the Rubios drove a van to Mexico once or twice a month to acquire authentic ingredients and never had a hard time getting people to enjoy their food, but they did experience other challenges.
“When we first opened, my dad had to teach people what a taco was,” Carlos said. “We had to start very basic.”
To meet the challenge of juggling a family and a restaurant, the Rubios made El Azteca a family business in every aspect.
“The restaurant was our life,” Carlos said. “We lived just behind the counter at the restaurant. I literally grew up in the restaurant … When I was four I would sing to the tables. When I was eight, I would bus tables, and when I was 14, I would wait on tables.”
Carlos remembers trying to help clean salsa bowls when he was only 3 years old and falling asleep on tablecloths near the feet of the hostess, his aunt.
“It wasn’t hard [juggling family and business],” Felicitas said. “We were used to running our own business and we knew how to run a restaurant. The family and the restaurant were one thing.”
Carlos, who worked in Los Angeles as an advertising copywriter, came back to Provo to run the restaurant after his father’s passing, to honor his parents. When the location was changed to its current location at 46 W. 1230 North (just north of Provo High School) in 1994, the restaurant stayed the same but with a more relaxed atmosphere. His mother occasionally comes in to cook tamales or other menu items, according to Carlos.
“Mom and dad were always serving,” Carlos said. “They would make food and drive it around to people in need around Provo.”
Carlos said running the restaurant feels just like having people over for dinner.
“It means everything to [my mom],” he said. “It is a connection to [her husband] and that is why I want to keep it going.”
