Peoria restaurant opens up amid pandemic, hoping to give back to the community

It's tough for anyone in the restaurant industry during the pandemic, but a brother and sister are not letting it stop them from opening their business.

PEORIA, Ariz. - It's tough for anyone in the restaurant industry during the pandemic, but a brother and sister are not letting it stop them from opening their business.

They say they are going to adapt and roll with the punches to make it a success.

It's been a life long dream of brother and sister Jorge Cota and Meliza Miranda to open up their own Mexican restaurant. For the last two years, they worked on their concept.

Mochilero Kitchen in Peoria opened this week, but now the official grand opening is looking different than they had originally planned.

“The main reason we wanted to open up was to show our food get the guys cooking getting everyone riled up and excited in the community we feel we owe our staff the opportunity to open
even though the coronavirus has put a stop to an dining in experience," Cota said.

The siblings still wanted to move ahead but it will now be a virtual opening.

The restaurant is also equipped and ready for takeout and delivery. They say the goal right now is to give back to a community they love during a tough time.

“We don’t want to let our community wait, we want to participate, provide amazing meals and give back to the community," Miranda said.

They want the community to know they are there are now open and plan to have a real grand opening when it's safe to do so.