FARGO — Maria’s Homestyle Mexican Food, a Fargo business that has been operating as a catering company out of the Square One Rental Kitchen in north Fargo, will soon open a sit-down restaurant in downtown Fargo.
On a recent afternoon, the founder of the food company, Maria Carpenter Ostos, was busy setting up her new restaurant with a bit of help from her mother in what used to be the Smiling Moose Sandwich Grill at 102 Broadway.
“She’s retired, so she’s available,” Ostos said, referring to her mother, Martha Salas, who replied that she was happy to help.
Maria Carpenter Ostos and her mother, Martha Salas, ready a downtown Fargo storefront to become the home of Maria’s Homestyle Mexican Food restaurant.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
Salas added that she worked for many years as a waitress in California, where the family is from.
“I was 18 when I started doing waitressing,” Salas said.
Ostos provided a quick history of her food business, which she said started in earnest around 2017, when she was operating out of a food tent and selling goods at a local food market.
“Red River Market got us started; introduced us to the community,” Ostos said, adding that the catering aspect of the business soon followed, along with gigs at local pop-up events all over town.
Ostos said she expects the new restaurant, which will be called Maria’s, will have its soft opening the second week of October, with an official opening the third week of October.
Even after the restaurant opens, Ostos said the brand will continue operating its food trailer in the summer time as well as its catering service.
In addition to her mother, Ostos said she has been getting help from volunteers in setting up the restaurant.
Many of those volunteers, she added, are her neighbors at Square One kitchen.
Those working to set up the new Maria’s Homestyle Mexican Food restaurant in downtown Fargo track their progress using sticky notes displayed on a wall of the restaurant.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
“We get, like, two and three people at a time. They give us anywhere from one hour to seven hours,” said Ostos, noting that after the restaurant opens she will continue to teach classes at Square One.
Ostos informed customers about the restaurant news in a recent post on the company’s Facebook page.
The post stated the business plans to open the new space in October, with the exact date to be based “on how fast we can get things done and in order!”
Images on the Facebook page show people working on fitting up the
former Smiling Moose space, which became vacant earlier this year.
Ostos
told The Forum in 2021
she began her business by accident after moving to the Fargo area around 2008.
“I had started the business without knowing I started it by doing potlucks and bringing food,” she said.
Before deciding on the former Smiling Moose space for her restaurant, Ostos said she looked for a long time to find just the right spot.
Her hope: recreating the experiences she had as a child visiting tacorias in California.
“I didn’t want anything huge. I wanted small, little,” Ostos said.
“I aspire to be like a tacoria like back home, that I cherish and miss all the time,” Ostos added.
Dave Olson is a reporter, photographer and occasional videographer. He graduated from Minnesota State University Moorhead with a degree in mass communications, and during his time at The Forum he has covered many beats, from cops and courts to business and education. Currently is writing business stories, but jumps on daily news as needed. He’s also written about UFOs, ghosts, dinosaur bones and the dwarf planet Pluto. You may reach Dave at 701-241-5555, or by email at dolson@forumcomm.com.
Dining and Cooking