Rivera gave Minnesotans a taste of Mexico

Texas-born Ernestino Rivera worked as a migrant farmer and eventually opened Pancho's in Minneapolis.

By MIKE KASZUBAmkaszuba@startribune.com

Last update: September 26, 2009 - 7:09 PM

Ernestino Rivera was a middle-aged man when he borrowed $5,000 from a bank and opened Pancho's, a Mexican restaurant that had its best days on West Broadway Avenue in north Minneapolis.

The food was traditional, and Tuesday's along West Broadway became "Taco Tuesdays." Connie Larsen, his only daughter, said Rivera introduced north Minneapolis to Menudo, a soup made with tripe, pork and hominy.

"He used to have the meanest chimichanga in all of the Twin Cities -- it was to die for," she said.

Rivera, 84, of Minneapolis, died Wednesday. He was born in Bridgeport, Texas, and worked as a migrant farmer, where he met his late wife, Maria (Mary). He was a World War II veteran, and had been a prisoner of war in Germany.

After working at a scrap metal yard in north Minneapolis, Rivera opened his first restaurant on West Broadway, which flourished for more than a decade. As the restaurant became more successful, he opened a grocery store and had a dance floor at the same location that featured live Mexican music on Saturday nights. Larsen worked as a waitress in the restaurant. "It was pretty doggone busy," she recalled.

When a large redevelopment project changed the landscape of the area, Rivera moved to Central Avenue in northeast Minneapolis. "My dad did not want to be a part of that. He wanted to just be [a] 'mom & pop,'" his daughter recalled.

On Central Avenue, Pancho's also thrived for a while. Jack Hunt, whose funeral home in northeast Minneapolis is handling Rivera's funeral, said he frequently ate at Pancho's, which was nearby. "He was just a great, great person, and very generous," said Hunt. "They over-served. [They'd always say] 'Oh, try this. No charge.'

"You almost felt part of the family when you walked in," he said. "[It was] strictly Mexican, and extremely good. They had the real food that the people eat."

Rivera and his wife could always be found at the restaurant, Hunt said.

Larsen said her parents knew each other as migrant farmers working in Texas, Oklahoma and, eventually, Minnesota. "They met along the way ... working the farms," she said. "Very, very poor beginnings."

Rivera was preceded in death by his wife, and a son, Francisco. He is survived by his daughter, three sisters, Clara, Margaret and Juanita, and two brothers, Erminio and Jesse.

Visitation will be Sunday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Billman-Hunt Funeral Chapel, 2701 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis. Mass of Christian burial will occur Monday at 11 a.m. at Ascension Catholic Church, 1723 Bryant Ave. N., Minneapolis, with visitation one hour prior to the service. Burial will be at Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.

Mike Kaszuba • 651-222-1673

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