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PRESS EATS

Authentic Turkish Food Made fresh Daily

CARLOS CARRILLO’S AMERICAN DREAM TURNS 40 NEXT YEAR BY MATT HICKMAN

2210 E. Northern Lights

258-3434 XNLV337846

(next to Kinko’s/FedEx)

Hours : Tues thru Fri : 11am-9pm Sat : 12-9pm / Closed : Sun & Mon

AU T H E N T I C INDIAN R ES TAU R A N T

Bombay Deluxe Ă?ĂŒi˜`i`ĂŠ ÂœĂ•Ă€Ăƒ\ĂŠ->ĂŒÂ‡-Ă•Â˜ĂŠÂŁĂ“\ĂŽäq™ Discover Indian Cuisine

277-1200 277-1200

Order at www.BombayDeluxe.com Now Delivering to JBER and Eagle River. orPlace www.FoodOnTheWay.com orders by 4pm for same night Delivery!

Order at www.BombayDeluxe.com or www.FoodOnTheWay.com

XNLV337663

555 W. Northern Lights Boulevard Lunch Buffet Mon–Fri 11a-3p • Dinner 3p–9:30p Extended Hours: Sat-Sun 12:30p–9:30p

1/2 Price

Any Menu Item #6: 0/& .&/6 *5&. (&5 5)& /% *5&. 0' &26"- 03 -&44 7"-6& 0'' With this coupon only. Not valid with any other advertised offer Expires * Not Valid on Friday Night

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ext year, Carlos Carrillo will celebrate 40 years in business on Old Seward Highway. One looking for the secret to his longevity and success last Friday afternoon needn’t look further than the corner booth in the cantina, where John and Linda Rime were dining at their favorite haunt. Back in 1978, when Carrillo took over the property, previously a cafĂŠ called Sad Shack, Linda was among his first employees. “I remember he was the best boss I ever had in my life, and that’s not kidding,â€? Linda Rime said, her combination plate half-gone. “The cooks used to cook down in the basement and one morning I went to work and there was an earthquake and Carlos comes up and says, ‘Linda, are you dancing again?’â€? Carrillo said there weren’t other Mexican restaurants in the area then. In fact, there wasn’t much of anything there then. “The closest Mexican restaurant used to be downtown,â€? Carrillo recalled. “La Mex was a big place, La Cabana, Pancho’s Villa — we started as No. 5.â€? Carrillo’s simple way of making people feel right at home has been instrumental in his rise from an immigrant laborer to a entrepreneur. Originally from the state of Michoacan, west of Mexico City, Carrillo came to Alaska at the age of 23 in 1969, following in the footsteps of a trio of uncles who helped build the Alaska Railroad. Young Carlos began working in restaurants, and though being a restauranteur was never a dream of his growing up, the idea of opening a place of his own became increasingly logical, and when the chance to buy the Sad Shack came up, he jumped at it. Ten years later, he was monitoring the real estate market, and when the property came up just down the street from his at a price he liked, he jumped at it. Carlos’ Mexican Restaurant moved into its new location at 11401 Old Seward Highway in 1990 and has been serving traditional Mexican food and potent margaritas there ever since.

“I moved here in 1969, in Fairbanks working for restaurants; one very classy restaurant, 5 star and I started to look around in 1978. I see an opportunity over here, and I get in,� Carrillo said. “I started like anybody else — washing dishes, worked up to bartender, whatever.� Carrillo said his most attractive menu item may be his margaritas, which, he insists consist of the most honest pour in town. “With liquor I do pretty good — probably one of the best in this town. People like our Cadillac Margaritas,� Carrillo said. “You’ve got to give the people the liquor; don’t cheat the people, they’ll start walking out.� As for food, Carrillo said his most popular dish tends to be the carne asada, complete with fresh chiles, rice and beans. Carlos’ also moves a considerable number of American plates, owing to Carrillo’s background working in a number of different types of Alaska restaurants. “Ribeye steak, all kinds of sandwiches, fried chicken, too,� Carrillo said. “My style is a little more like Arizona or California, with the burrito, enchilada, chilorio, but I have them all. I try to get more into seafood, too — shrimp, scallops.� In his decades in Alaska, Carrillo has the demographics come to mirror his own background considerably more. “I remember it was only me and my

uncles — only like 10 people,� Carrillo joked of the Latino community in those days. “Now there’s 45,000 to 50,000 (Latinos) in Alaska — they keep coming up from California. They always look for menudo. You make a good one for them, they like you.� Carrillo isn’t sure whether he’ll still be running the restaurant when his 40th anniversary comes up next year. He may hand day-to-day operations over to his nephew Eduardo. But even in retirement, he won’t be heading south to live, even though he keeps a condo in Puerto Vallarta where he spends two to three weeks avoiding the Alaskan winter. “I’m getting too old,� Carrillo said. “I have my cabin in Houston and my house, things over here. I like Alaska. I think this time of year, the summer is beautiful.� Looking back, Carrillo can hardly believe his American Dream came true. “I never (thought) too much about having any business at all. I tried to come and work for a little while, then have a good time in Acapulco or Puerto Vallarta, or even your hometown, but for me everything changed into a different way — work, work, work, work,� Carrillo said. “You think in Alaska, you started something and it’s like something you make responsibility for you to keep going. It’s the only way you can make it.� July 6 - July 12, 2017

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