With a Celebration of Heritage and a Passion for Food, This Couple Is Dominating the Phoenix Dining Scene

Sitting in a dark wooden booth that he built, Armando Hernandez puts his left arm palm up on the walnut-stained table to point out a tattoo he got in 2020. It's the outline of the Mexican state of Chihuahua — where he met his wife and business partner, Nadia Holguin — behind a saguaro cactus. The tattoo represents the life the pair has built in Arizona.

“We’re learning, we’re adapting here, and it’s what gave us the opportunity to really flourish,” he says of the couple's life in Arizona.

That same illustration brands the couple's newest restaurant, Cocina Chiwas. It opened on February 9 as the culinary anchor in Culdesac Tempe, which describes itself as the first car-free neighborhood built from scratch in the U.S. The eatery also marks the couple's return to the kitchen after the whirlwind expansion of their restaurant empire.

“We are very passionate about food, about what we do. We just love cooking,” Holguin says.

As the couple share their story, the restaurant begins to buzz with staff setting up for dinner service. The wood-fired grill, which Hernandez also built, crackles with mesquite and pecan wood and fills the air with its aroma.

Hernandez and Holguin's role as restaurateurs was sparked with their first conversation. They learned two things about each other that would prove significant: a shared connection to Chihuahua and aspirations to open a restaurant.

“A lot of things do seem like they’re meant to be,” Hernandez says.

Yet one thing that didn’t seem inevitable was the success they found with their first taqueria.

In 2016, the couple opened a Chihuahuan-style taqueria dubbed Tacos Chiwas near the underpass of State Route 51 on McDowell Road. The former Dairy Queen, with its recognizable shingled roof, seated 30.

“The McDowell location [on paper] should have never worked,” Hernandez says, noting the site's lack of walkability and history of business failures. But with a commitment to hard work and a can’t-fail attitude, and by applying their culinary talents to foods they loved as children, the restaurant thrived.

The original Tacos Chiwas marked the beginning of a series of restaurants that would embed the couple in the Valley’s dining scene, endear them to diners, and allow them to tell their story of Mexican cuisine.

“Every day for the last seven years has been nonstop for myself and for Nadia,” Hernandez says as he looks around Cocina Chiwas. In that time, they’ve opened and closed different restaurants, started their family, gave birth to their now-4-year-old daughter, and have another child on the way.

“From our standpoint, we have no other choice than to succeed,” Hernandez says. And, “blissful ignorance” didn’t hurt either, he adds.

A Phoenix Staple

Renowned Valley chef Rene Andrade, who worked at House Brasserie with Holguin under chef Matt Carter, remembers hearing the buzz about Tacos Chiwas. The first time he tried to go there, the line was so long that he left. When Andrade went back a second time, he ordered everything on the menu and was blown away.

“It was one of those restaurants that became a staple of the city within a year,” Andrade says.

In the years that followed, Hernandez and Holguin took on a series of lauded but ultimately short-lived ventures. Cafe Chiwas, which served coffee, pastries, and tamales, opened next to Tacos Chiwas on McDowell Road in 2017 but closed a few months later. In 2018, Hernandez and Holguin launched the critically acclaimed Roland’s Cafe Market Bar and The Normal with restaurateur and pizzaiolo supreme Chris Bianco. Hernandez previously worked front-of-house for Bianco at Pizzeria Bianco and Pane Bianco.

Roland’s was “the convergence of culinary philosophies,” Phoenix New Times writer Chris Malloy opined in February 2019. It married regional Mexican cuisine with Italian accents. Holguin was nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southwest for her work at Roland’s on the heels of the restaurant’s closure in 2019. The Normal, a modern diner and bar inside the Graduate Hotel in Tempe, likewise closed in 2019. That year also ushered in a second Tacos Chiwas in Chandler. The original location moved from McDowell to its current home on Indian School Road in May 2021.

With each opportunity, the duo learned and kept pressing forward, Hernandez says. Then, they met Andrade. He and Hernandez quickly bonded over their love of food.

“I would say I’m pretty crazy about food in general, so when you find other people who speak the same language, it’s almost like an instant connection to them,” Hernandez says.

Once Hernandez learned that Andrade was opening a restaurant, he and Holguin jumped in as partners. The result: Bacanora. The Grand Avenue bistro celebrates Sonoran cuisine. The grill tucked next to the end of the bar serves up caramelos, which is a small, meat-stuffed quesadilla, and carne asada. Bacanora has garnered intense buzz, earning a James Beard nomination for Best New Restaurant in 2022 and a nod to Andrade and Roberto Centeno for Best Chef, Southwest this year.

“Every day, they left an impact on me,” Andrade says of Hernandez and Holguin. “I always have a high standard of my food, of everything I do, and they hold themselves to the same.”

Holguin agrees, saying it was something she noticed about Andrade when they first worked together at House Brasserie.

“[We] feel the same way,” she says. “We wanted to bring that to Phoenix, to Arizona, to showcase our culture, to showcase Mexican food.”

The couple likewise encouraged and partnered with Centeno, Andrade’s cousin, and Andrade to open Espiritu, a vibe-heavy cocktail bar and seafood-driven restaurant in downtown Mesa, one door down from the third Tacos Chiwas.

The idea for Espiritu came after Centeno, Hernandez, and Holguin visited San Francisco and stopped at a small shotgun-style spot. When Hernandez saw a similar layout at the building in Mesa, he told Centeno they could make a restaurant happen there. After putting their heads together, they built the place out in six weeks, Centeno recalls.

“Armando is an extremely goal-driven person,” Centeno says, “You will rarely see [him] say something and not make it happen.”

It’s an attitude Hernandez and Holguin share.

“We grew up with this immigrant mentality, where we come in very much about working hard and figuring things out,” Hernandez says.

Or, as Centeno puts it, “It’s confidence.”

A Team Effort

That confidence has manifested in the latest venture from Hernandez and Holguin — Cocina Chiwas. The idea for the restaurant had been percolating for years. During the throes of the pandemic, they began planning in earnest. In a time that was filled with so much loss and uncertainty, it gave them a chance to create something positive and build anticipation for the future, Hernandez says.

“[Cocina Chiwas is] very much about showing who we are, showing that Mexican food is complex,” Hernandez says. “It’s an opportunity for Nadia and myself to get back into the kitchen to focus all the energy and everything we’ve been doing for the last seven years.”

When the Culdesac team, who are regular diners at Tacos Chiwas, approached the couple, Hernandez was intrigued by the opportunity to be part of the development. Culdesac bills itself as a "five-minute city" experience, walkable to a coworking space, coffee — and Cocina Chiwas.

“I like the ethos of what they’re doing,” Hernandez says. “I drive everywhere, so density in an area like this is really cool. I love being part of unique things in general, and this area seemed to be that.”

Finding the right community for their restaurants has always been important to the couple. “We very much like to ingrain ourselves with community,” Hernandez said.

The new restaurant is airy, bright, and modern. Natural elements including woven baskets and hanging plants provide warmth, as do the walnut-stained tables and booths. Cactus-green tiles on the bar and a wine wall are eye-catching. The wood-fired grill sits next to a wood-fired oven in an open kitchen, where diners can watch the chefs work.

The menu shows “where we come from but also where we’re going,” Hernandez says.

Elements from the couple's Chihuahaun heritage, from the burning pecan and mesquite wood to the menonita cheese that is made 30 minutes from where Hernandez grew up, are on display. Diners will also find Holguin’s tortillas, which are served at the three Tacos Chiwas taquerias, Bacanora, and Espiritu. At Cocina Chiwas, mashed potato, butter, and cabbage are tucked inside, and the tacos are fried.

While Tacos Chiwas will always stay true to Chihuahuan cuisine, Cocina Chiwas is a space for the pair to play with ingredients. Holguin plans to regularly create new specials.

“With [Cocina Chiwas], I want to be more open-minded, I want to be more adventurous,” she says, noting that she already has a list of items she wants to cook.

According to Andrade, Holguin is quiet and composed in the kitchen, and her work hits with flavors that take him back to his childhood. Andrade recalls a recent special he had at Cocina Chiwas: Sopa de Fideo, which is a noodle soup with a tomato and stock base.

“She puts her heart into it,” he says. “It’s so amazing to see how they are able to put things on their menu that remind us of our childhood. It’s very powerful.”

Hernadez, on the other hand, is “a different beast,” Andrade notes. When he’s cooking, Hernandez often can be found dancing and singing along to music. Putting this playfulness in the kitchen aside, Andrade and Centeno both highlight Hernandez's business acumen and honest advice that he offers as a friend and as a business partner.

“They’re truly a great team,” Andrade says of Hernandez and Holguin.

That teamwork is evident on Cocina Chiwas' menu, which includes dishes such as Costilla de res, a wood-fired beef short rib; Chile Relleno; and Arroz con Camaron — a nod to fried rice with Baja shrimp and salsa macha. Fans of the former Roland’s Cafe will see some familiar dishes, including open-faced quesadillas crisped in the oven, and mussels with house-made chorizo and Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes that are infused with smoke in the oven and served with a crostini of Proof bread.

"We try to use every aspect of the grill,” Hernandez says. “It all has some type of smoke, some type of char to it.”

‘We're Serving Food We Love’

Cocina Chiwas currently serves dinner and drinks with a focus on wine, but Hernandez and Holguin plan to add lunch and will expand the menu as they go. To see Cocina Chiwas come to life feels like a full-circle moment for the pair.

“We’re here, and we still can’t believe we’re here,” Holguin says. “We’re serving food we love.”

Andrade says the team shouldn’t be underestimated, noting that Tacos Chiwas, Espiritu, and Bacanora are often alongside each other on best restaurant lists.

“That’s three restaurants that they own. Six months from now, there’s going to be a fourth one," he says, predicting that Cocina Chiwas soon will join those ranks.

The opening of Cocina Chiwas has Hernandez reflecting on what the couple has built. He thinks back to their first taqueria, which they hoped would attract enough customers to fill 30 seats. They’ve filled those and countless more since then. “I feel like we have a very complete portfolio,” he says.

While their plate is looking full right now, when asked if the Valley can expect more restaurants or collaborations from them in the future, Hernandez shrugs: “Life is weird. You never know.”

Cocina Chiwas

2001 East Apache Boulevard, Tempe
480-916-3690
cocinachiwasaz.com
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 5 to 10 p.m.