Meet Betty Artes | Immigrant Food Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Betty Artes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Betty, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Every aspect of our lives has an effect on the outcome of our carreer. As an immigrant from Argentina at the age of 7 with my family I learned to be uncomfortable with change and learned to turn it into a learning and growing experience. This discomfort becomes familiar and allows for greater risk taking which is a one of the foundations of entrepreneurship.
Both of my parents were children of immigrants to Argentina. Therefore they valued their parents strengths and built on it. They also taught me the value of learning other languages and being open to and embracing differences. Growing up in New York City allowed me to explore so many cultures, foods, faiths and lifestyles. I treasure those years as the building blocks of who I am today. As a food entrepreneure that curiosity and honoring of differences allows to create and share the food experience of many regions all over the world. For right now we are focussed on Mexico and Latin America. Honoring the traditional and sometimes adding a modern element. I value food as being at the core of family and identity and a core value to create those flavors that trigger memories with the best ingredients as if my grandmother presented me with that meal.

What should our readers know about your business?
Casa Alvarez Foods was born from the success of our Mexican restaurant by the same name, minus the Foods. Over the course of 20 years I owned and operated, with my business partner Ernesto Alvarez, an eatery that grew to be a “pillar of the community” in that we served award winning cuisine and served our community on many different levels. It was a labor of love which we enjoyed every single day. The proudest moments were the unexpected comments by patrons who would exclaim “I can taste the love” and “your pork green chile transcends religion”. The awards we won were for our green chile sauces which were extremely popular. Over the years we introduced a variety of sauces and all were recognized and lauded by food critics and judges. Thus Casa Alvarez Foods was born. We took on the challenge of retail and food service sales of our products initially with the Pork Green Chile and the Vegetarian Chile. Our commitment to our customers has always been to offer delicious flavors made with real food that nourishes your body and soul. When customers taste our products and close their eyes and tell us they were just transported to their days at CU Boulder when they would eat at our restaurant several times a week. That’s when we knew we were doing something right. The lessons learned have been to listen to your customers, surround yourself with positive and forward looking people, and every obstacle is a lesson that will help you grow.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Of course I have a sweet spot for Boulder and Mexican food as do most of my friends. My favorite thing to share about the area are outdoor activities thus visiting Chautaqua Park and hiking the trails would be a great start followed by brunch at Chautaqua Dining Hall sitting on their porch with a view of the park. Early evening on the Pearl Street Mall watching some of the buskers putting on entertaining shows. Having dinner at Centro Latin Kitchen on their patio and people watch. Making time to catch a live taping of E Town at the E Town Hall is a unique experience for locals and visitors. Rent some bikes at University Cycles and ride the Boulder Creek Path as far east as Shamame’s Bake Shoppe for the best breakfast burrito or one of her delicious pastries.
For a treat in Denver I would get tickets to the Immersive Frida Kahlo experience and take them to Super Mega Bien for a different and excellent latin dining experience.
A visit to the Boulder Dushambe Tea House is a must after a stroll through the Boulder Farmer’s Market. If a Wednesday evening Farmers Market check out the music at the Bands on the Bricks on Pearl Street and dance the night away.

Website: www.casaalvarezfoods.com

Instagram: @casaalvarezfoods @bettyatcasa

Linkedin: Betty Artes

Facebook: @casaalvarezfoods @bettyatcasa

Other: email betty@casaalvarezfoods.com

Image Credits
@lickedmyplate @crooked.carrot