Jesus Mendez

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Jesús "Chuy" Mendez-Fragoso (born December 8, 1988 in Tabasco, Mexico) is the the owner of Unos Tacos at the Pizitz Food Hall and a co-founder of Adios in The Dagny on 1st Avenue North, and Salud Taqueria in the Webb Building on 20th Street North.

Mendez's family immigrated to Bessemrt in the early 1990s, returning to Mexico for a short time and then coming back and settling in Pelham. He graduated from Thompson High School in 2007. He served three months in the St Clair County Jail arising from a speeding ticket and worked in the kitchen as a trusty. He began his restaurant career in 2010 at the Margarita Grill in Pelham where he was promoted to manager, and later worked at Cocina Superior at Brookwood Village and briefly at Taco Mama.

Mendez later worked for Frank and Pardis Stitt at Highlands Bar & Grill and Chez Fonfon. He was recruited by Bayer Properties in 2018 to manage "The Louis" bar at the Pizitz Food Hall as an operating partner. In 2019 he founded Orale Birmingham, a group of Hispanic bartenders who organize charity events.

Mendez partnered with Jay Williams to open a J Wings location in the food hall. In March 2020, he and his parents opened Unos Tacos in the former Waffleworks stall. He also was one of the operating partners for the Birmingham locations of Franklin, Tennessee-based Honest Coffee Roasters in Edgewood and at the Pizitz.

Mendez partnered with José Medina-Camacho to open the Mexican-themed Adios cocktail bar in November 2022. He then joined with Medina-Camacho and Vinh Tran to create Salud Taqueria.

Mendez was recognized as a "Top 40 Under 40" business person by the Birmingham Business Journal in 2023.

References

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