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If Walter Terrones, owner of Mi Pueblito Mexican Grill, made a film about his future, he might call it Ahead to the Past.
That's because the 67-year-old restaurant owner said he is committed to continuously researching and adding to his menu the most authentic Mexican dishes, including seafood items.
The menu currently lists 94 meals, nine breakfast dishes and an all-day buffet.
In the winter months, that day sees Mi Pueblito's doors open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., except for Tuesdays, when the restaurant is closed for cleaning and maintenance. But in the summer, those hours expand to 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., especially if there's a party or wedding booked into the outdoor patio area, which adds a capacity of 80 to the grill's normal 35.
In addition, Terrones said, he uses his summer Tuesdays to farm three plots of land out near Crowley, Colo.
On Tuesdays in the summer, when we're off, I go and farm in Crowley. I grow sweet corn, watermelons, sweet potatoes, peanuts and chilies.
Terrones once called Crowley home. It's where the seeds of his future were planted within him.
One seed involved farming.
We were farmers, but we were lucky if we made $8,000 to $10,000 a year for a family of six. We farmed for years and years. I used to work stacking alfalfa for 75 cents an hour.
A related seed forced him to learn to cook.
I was 15 years old, and at that time, race was quite a thing in schools. I didn't think I was getting the attention I needed in school, so at 16 I left and started working in Kansas. I had an 8 by 10 little room with a little stove, and I started cooking for myself.
In Kansas I used to run the combines. And then in August, I...