Maria Elena Ball opened Mexico in Alaska in Anchorage in 1972. She says many doubted her at first. And in the early years of her restaurant, she relied on the kindness of strangers, as well as the cilantro and spices that her mom sent from Texas.
Audryana Belisle and Maria Elena Ball at the entrance of Mexico in Alaska in Feb. 2022
It was 1972, and Anchorage’s population was a fifth of what it was today. Many doubted her at first, she said. In the early years of Mexico in Alaska, she relied on the kindness of strangers, as well as cilantro and spices her mom shipped to her from Texas. Slowly, the restaurant started to catch on with a few loyal, well-traveled customers.
“I make the burritos they have in the deli, and then I have the salsa and the burritos in the two Sagaya stores,” she said. The other part of her success might be her stubbornness. She said she always felt she had to prove to her parents that she was independent and had made the right choice to come to Alaska. She said she’s dealt with obstacles like chauvinistic salesmen who couldn’t believe that the diminutive woman was the owner of the restaurant, and personal tragedies like loss of her daughter 10 years ago.
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