Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month – Community Stories Spotlight, Jesus “Chuy” Mendez

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Hibbett | City Gear is celebrating the rich diversity and influence as well as the positive contributions of the Hispanic community and culture through sharing the stories of local community members like Jesus Mendez, the owner/operator of Unos Tacos in Birmingham, Alabama.

Jesus, known in the food and beverage industry as “Chuy,” was born in a small Mexican village near Tabasco, Mexico. In 1994, his father migrated Jesus and his family to Birmingham, Alabama where his mother worked as a housekeeper and his father in landscaping.

At the time, Jesus recalls, the Mexican community in the Birmingham area was nearly nonexistent, which made his earliest years in the country difficult to navigate.

“I don’t remember any other Latino kids in school growing up,” he remembered. “My parents were working-class…so all I really remember from kindergarten, first grade, is just them dumping me in school, and them knowing very well that I don’t even speak English, and me just going to all these classes just trying to figure it out.”

Jesus explained at the time English as a Second Language (ESL) classes weren’t offered in schools like they are in many places today and without a community of other Spanish speaking students in his peer group or Spanish speaking teachers, he was left to determine by the actions of his classmates when it was time or how to ask to go to the restroom, when it was time to go to lunch, or ask for help.

By the time Jesus was in the fourth grade, his family had moved back to his native village in Mexico. It was this chapter in his childhood that he feels fueled his ambition to become the person and businessman he is today.

“Literally being born in a village where there are no doctors, there are no nurses, there’s no hospital…was very deep into my mindset that I need to become someone in life,” Jesus said. “I’m very grateful that my dad took the risk of moving me and my mom to a new country, to a new environment, and to new challenges to come and succeed.”

The Mendez family eventually returned to the Birmingham, Alabama area, where Jesus attended middle and high school.

“Growing up at that time was way more interesting because the Latino community at the time was very secluded, was very separate, I think mainly because we were still hiding away from the community and we weren’t as accepted… We weren’t really highlighted like we are now.”

To Jesus, this is a beautiful contrast to the lack of influence the Hispanic culture had in his youth and the celebration of his heritage today.

In the late 2000s, he got his first job in the service industry working as a server at a local Mexican restaurant. Little did he know that this job would put him on the trajectory to becoming an entrepreneur in the industry.

“I’ve always considered myself to have a servant’s heart. I’m not good at a lot of things, but I knew how to understand and comprehend and listen and serve people.”

That gift took Jesus from the bottom to the top in a series of restaurants from 2010 to his first entrepreneurial business venture as the co-owner and beverage director of The Louis Bar in the late 2010s.

The idea for his second business, Unos Tacos, was born in the backyard of his father’s house in 2019. At family gatherings, Jesus, his parents and siblings realized that the food they ate was delicious, consistent and authentic — and they wanted to share it with the community.

“Fear wasn’t an option, or failure wasn’t an option, because I knew what I wanted to become,” said Jesus. “It’s one of those things that I teach young entrepreneurs, or my staff, that if you want to get to that next level of leadership, or ownership or entrepreneurship, then you have to take these risks.”

Unos Tacos opened in March 2020, just days before the pandemic prompted a shut down of businesses across the nation. Despite the setback, Jesus was confident that what he had to offer was good and that there was an appetite for it in the community. He and his family adapted quickly to “curbside culture” and were not only able to keep their doors open, but thrive as a fan favorite at the Pizitz. The restaurant sold out on Day 1.

“I’ve been taught that I’m in the land of opportunity,” Jesus said. “As a Latino… I feel that we have a priority to represent our work ethic, our ambition, our culture, our arts, our passion, our love for food and family in a country that’s very very welcoming… for our culture and our people.”

Jesus attributes the love of the community, the understanding and love of family and patience as what kept the idea and demand for the business alive through those first months and one of the biggest reasons for Unos Tacos’ continued successes.

As we celebrate and honor Hispanic Heritage throughout September and October, Jesus encourages the community to unite and grow together, and ultimately to stop trying to blend in, and instead step out and do great things.