Hispanic Heritage Month
Chef Miguel Ribera was born in New Mexico in 1918.
In 1959, he bought Casa de Flores in Reno, where Maria de Flores was serving Spanish food. He changed the name to Casa de Amor and began serving Mexican cuisine 24 hours a day.
By 1961, "Chef Miguel" was an ambassador of sorts, providing demonstrations of "foreign cooking" at the local YMCA.
Eventually the restaurant took on Miguel's name, and the family would provide scholarships to many of their employees. One such recipient was Emma Sepulveda, who went on to become an accomplished writer and a professor at UNR. In 2014, President Obama appointed her to the William J. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Miguel passed away in 1998 and in 2001 new owners took over the restaurant, but kept the name. It remains Miguel's Fine Mexican Food to this day.
Ribera is honored with a Family Resource Center and local park in his name.
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