Finding another flavour of Mexico in Port Moody

Cesar Tiznado never expected the construction worker to notice his lunchbox. 

About eight years ago, after spending most of his life working in restaurants and resorts in Mazatlán, Mexico, Tiznado moved to Port Moody to be with his partner, Christel Lindstrom. 

The couple first met back in 2001. 

On a whim, Lindstrom, who immigrated to Canada from Sweden in 1998, took a vacation to Mazatlán with a friend. 

“I didn’t want to go to Mexico, she kind of dragged me there,” Lindstrom said. 

One night, the two friends walked into a restaurant on the beach together. And, perhaps, like a script straight out of a Hallmark movie, Tiznado noticed Lindstrom from behind the kitchen counter. 

“I remember when she came into the restaurant, she was seated, and I was like ‘she’s so beautiful,’” Tiznado said. 

Although the two saw each other on a dance floor later that night, Lindstrom returned home with her friend. For over a decade, Lindstrom and Tiznado went about their separate lives, thousands of kilometres apart. 

Eventually, though, they reconnected, got married, and settled in Port Moody eight years ago. 

But while Lindstrom found steady work through her own bookkeeping business, Tiznado went to work in construction — a far cry from frying beans and stuffing tacos for tourists on a beach. 

“That was the higher paying job for somebody with no experience in Canada,” Lindstrom said. 

Before he started his new job, he frequently returned to the kitchen. On weekends and evenings before his next shift, Tiznado prepared his food for the week: Mexican chorizo, refried beans, and homemade jalapeño salsa. 

At the construction site, during lunch breaks, Tiznado sat around his colleagues and enjoyed the meals that reminded him of home. One day, though, a colleague noticed him eating chorizo. 

Amid all the lumber beams and gravel piles, he couldn’t help but notice the mouthwatering smell coming from his lunchbox. 

“Next time you make that,” he said, “can you sell it to me?” 

Initially, Tiznado hesitated to make money off his coworker. The colleague, however, insisted he pay for the food, and until the company finished their project, Tiznado brought his love of cooking to the construction site. 

“I started getting 35 to 40 orders per week” Tiznado said. 

The interest planted an idea in the couple’s mind. 

“We thought, ‘Hey, that has got to be a business. To have a little deli and sell this stuff,’” Lindstrom said. 

Earlier this year, when a building on St. John’s St. was put up for sale, their vision came true. 

The couple launched Sabor A Mexico on Aug. 25, and over the past four months, hundreds of locals have flocked to the latest Mexican restaurant in the city, giving it a near perfect five star rating out of more than 100 reviews on Google. 

“It’s authentic food,” Tiznado said. “Quality is also very important to us.” 

A hub for Mexican food

Port Moody is no stranger to authentic Mexican food. 

For over a decade, a few blocks from their current location, Original’s Cafe Mexicano on Clarke St. has become a staple for Mexican cuisine. 

Both Tiznado and Lindstrom had rave reviews for Orignal’s, insisting that there is no rivalry between the two businesses. 

Lindstrom, specifically, said that the popularity of Sabor A Mexico and Original’s may have to do with an increased demand from people who have recently moved to the city. 

From 2016 to 2021, over 1,100 immigrants moved to Port Moody, increasing the city’s total immigrant population to 11,105, according to data from the 2021 census. 

Among the people who filled out the census, more than 500 declared that they were from countries in the Americas including Brazil, El Salvador, and Mexico. 

“I think there’s more Latin people here,” Lindstrom said. “When we opened, we thought we were mostly going to have Canadians, but I would say we almost have 50/50… I think there’s a high population for sure.” 

But it took a couple months for the restaurant to feel like home. 

Transforming the shop

Sabor A Mexico is a quaint shop with only nine tables. However, the decorations help the restaurant come to life. 

There is a Mexican flag draped over a booth. There are green, yellow, pink, purple, and blue streamers hanging from the ceiling. There are photos from friends in Mexico — cacti and churches — displayed on the walls. 

It’s hard to believe that roughly one year ago, the building was home to a Korean barbeque restaurant. But the decorations were a labour of love for both Tiznado and Lindstrom, who wanted to give the customers a feeling of comfort during their meal. 

Moving forward, the couple hopes to sell certain dishes — chorizo beans and salsa — online to compensate for when foot traffic is a little quieter during the week.

However, regardless of where the business goes in the future, Tiznado is excited at the prospect of sharing a little bit of his home country with Port Moody. It’s a similar feeling to the one he felt years ago, when he made chorizo dishes in his free time for the men and women at the construction site. 

A few weeks ago, a pair of locals were driving along St. John’s when they saw the sign to Sabor A Mexico — which translates to “the flavours of Mexico” in Spanish — and decided to pull over for a bite. 

When they sat down at one of the tables, the couple, originally from India, expressed their passion for Mexican food, Lindstrom said. 

A few minutes later, after they both tried the complimentary chips and salsa, the couple asked Lindstrom and Tiznado to visit their table.

“As soon as I tasted it,” the lady said to the owners.

“I could taste the love.”