El Paragua – Española, New Mexico
If small businesses are the backbone of American commerce, then the good old-fashioned lemonade stand is the spinal cord.” That sagacious metaphor (for which I unfortunately cannot take credit) is an apt description for how El Paragua transcended its humble beginnings to become one of the culinary crown jewels of Northern New Mexico. In 1958, the Atencio brothers, two precocious entrepreneurs growing up in the enchanting Española valley did the old-fashioned lemonade stand one better. They built a stand in which they sold their mother’s tacos and tamales. The stand’s overhanging roof provided respite from the rain, hence the name “El Paragua” or “the umbrella.” By 1965, the Atencio boys’ business was booming and the family home was transformed into…