Brave Heart: Meet Chef Gloria Arteaga

There are two things Gloria Arteaga, the owner and life force behind Nolita's Cafe El Portal, remembers most vividly about growing up in the town of Huitzuco in the Mexican state of Guerrero. One is the smell of freshly tilled soil as she and her six siblings worked the land with their father. The second is the thrill she felt each year when the first green shoots of corn became visible. "I would run to my father and say, 'Look, Dad, baby corn!'," she said. Though she now lives in New York City, far from the fields of her hometown, the smells, sights, and emotions tied to her childhood remain fresh and close. 

Those memories also include her mother; Arteaga cooked alongside her when she wasn't in the field with her father. Though her mother taught her techniques, such as making fresh corn tortillas, and passed along recipes, Arteaga also credits God with giving her the don that has allowed her to support her family and herself and to make a life in New York. "God gave me the gift of cooking because He knew I had a lazy man," she said.

If there is one thing there's no room for in Arteaga's life, it's laziness. Before she left Huitzuco for the United States, Arteaga had two restaurants, one where she served comida a la carta and the other specializing in seafood. That was in the 1960s. Through the restaurants, Arteaga was able to support her six children, but in the 1980s, she decided she needed to make a move… a big move. “I didn't want my daughters [she has five of them] to marry a man from our town," Arteaga said. "In 1986, I moved to New York and worked for a year, doing everything from babysitting to cleaning skates. In that year, I saved up $16,000; then, I brought my children here.”

Sixteen thousand dollars isn't much of a cushion when you have six kids, especially if you're moving to New York, you're the breadwinner, you don't have a job waiting for you, and you don't speak English. Arteaga, however, was never scared. “God made me a brave woman,” she said. “There was never a moment in my life when I said, 'I'll try' or 'Let me see if I can do this.' No. I have always said, 'I'm going to do this' and I do it. The challenges are what make life beautiful.”

Next, Arteaga opens her first NYC restaurant… [pagebreak]

What she did in 2002 was open a restaurant, Café El Portal, in Manhattan's Nolita neighborhood. There were a dozen reasons, at least, why that was a risky proposition. For one thing, the area was among the city's most economically depressed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Despite the mayor's exhortations that New Yorkers should support lower Manhattan businesses, many people were reluctant to spend time in the area, as officials remained in disagreement about the health hazards posed by lingering ash and debris found in dust particles.

For another, rents in the neighborhood were historically high and likely would be again. Business expenses were often compounded by fees extracted by mob bosses, who all but ran the streets around El Portal. Then, there was the matter of competition.

While Arteaga says Café El Portal was only the second Mexican restaurant in the neighborhood, Nolita has no lack of cafés, bars, and eateries. Could El Portal distinguish itself and win a steady clientele? Arteaga was willing to face all these risks and invest everything she had in her new business.

The stakes weren't faced by her alone. This time, her children, who were now adults, all committed what they could to getting Café El Portal up and running. One daughter invested money—their entire start-up nest egg was $10,000—in the restaurant, while her son built the bar. Arteaga herself took on multiple roles; “I was cooking, doing dishes, and cleaning,” she says.

Though they didn't do any advertising, Café El Portal was an immediate hit. “On the first day, we ran out of food,” Arteaga recalls, “and it's been that way ever since.” Word of mouth has always been El Portal's most effective form of marketing, and word got out fast about the small, basement spot.

Next, what the future holds for Arteaga… [pagebreak]

Though it has just 40 or so seats, is dimly lit, and lacks the design consciousness that seems de rigeur for any restaurant opening today, that's precisely why it appeals to regulars. That, and its most important fixture: Arteaga herself. “Ambiance is everything,” says Arteaga's daughter Adriana Carballido, who manages the restaurant at night. “My mother is always here. If she's not in the kitchen, she's at one of the tables. People like that. They like that it's a family business.”

Of course, they like the food, too, which is inspired by authentic, traditional recipes from Arteaga's home state of Guerrero. Arteaga arrives at the restaurant by 7 AM each day to start the specialties. While she does have a chef, Arteaga prefers to hang onto the reins of the kitchen. “I'm jealous about my recipes,” she confides. “There are some things I haven't even taught my chef.”

She laughs, but daughter Adriana says these recipes are the key to her mother's success. “Consistency is important in a restaurant,” she said, “and we've been consistent from the beginning. The salsa roja and salsa verde are the same salsas we served when we opened. The fact that my mom tastes what's coming out of the kitchen ensures that our dishes are always of the same quality. You don't get that if the person who's the chef isn't at the restaurant."

Arteaga, resplendent in an embroidered Mexican dress and a colorful rebozo, says she's not sure what she'll do when it's time for her to retire. While her children are fully capable of running Café El Portal, her own routine has been tied to the restaurant's rhythms for so many years that she'd likely be off beat without it. Regulars needn't worry, though. It's clear Arteaga will always have a place at the table.