Mexican Immigrant Founds Food Business

When Gretel Barrita was ten, her parents divorced. Her mother, a restaurant cook in Oaxaca, México, moved to the United States for more opportunities, leaving her three children, including Barrita, in the care of family. “It was heartbreaking,” she said. “I missed my mother terribly.” So, at 15, Barrita crossed the border alone to join her mother. 

Reunited in Santa Fe in 2003, neither woman spoke English, and they struggled to find resources in the community. To make ends meet, Barrita started a job making salads at the Second Street Brewery. It was then that she committed herself to learning English.  

“I kept asking my coworkers, ‘What’s the word for this in English?’ ‘Can you repeat it?’ ‘How do I pronounce this?’ I felt uncomfortable asking,” she said, “but I knew I had to.” 

Barrita spent 14 years at the brewery, and as the restaurant expanded, she was promoted several times. In 2018, she became Executive Chef, overseeing a staff of 45 and managing the kitchens at Second Street Brewery and its two sister restaurants. The majority of her workforce were immigrants.  

“I’ve always had a passion for food,” she said. “But I didn’t just do my job as chef. My own struggle to find work was so hard, and I wanted to help others who were also in that position.” 

n 2010, she joined the Centro de Trabajadores Unidos: United Workers’ Center at Somos Un Pueblo Unido (Somos), which advocates for workers’ rights, and fought for passage of the state’s paid sick leave policy during the pandemic. She’s also working on a new initiative between the organization and the state to help immigrants start businesses. In addition, to her work with Somos, Barrita spends her free time helping newcomers fill out housing applications, enroll in English classes, and use computers at the library.

“The immigrant population here in Santa Fe continues to grow, and this population is thirsty for opportunities,” she said. “We have people who want to work and start businesses, and do things right, but we need to help them.” 

In March 2023, Barrita decided to start her own business. Her company provides high-quality, ready-to-eat, family-sized meals, with a focus on serving working-class immigrant families. “Single mothers are some of the hardest workers I know,” she said. “And so are immigrants. I want to help lighten their load.”