Dinner service has begun, and the front room is full.

A heart-shaped neon sign glows overhead. A game plays on television. A devotional image, a first-aid chart, and handwritten menus share the walls.

Dressed in black, a woman stands beside the counter with her hands in her apron pockets and watches the room move around her: half-finished plates, laughter, and glasses meeting across the tables.

The restaurant is called Xochimilco, after the canals, flower boats, and weekend music of a district south of Mexico City.

When the Mata family took over the restaurant in 2006, the former owner left one request: keep the name. They did, and tried to preserve its spirit—a colorful, lively place that could feel like home.

Long before a guest walks through the door, the day begins with carrying, washing, cutting, wiping, and sorting.

The dining room fills with guests, framed by red walls, papel picado, and television light.
Xochimilco’s storefront on Melrose Avenue in the South Bronx.

It was supposed to be temporary

The Mata family comes from Acatlán de Osorio in Puebla, Mexico.

When Rafael Mata first arrived in New York, he planned to work for a few years, save money, and return home. Life did not follow the script.

He and Suzanna built a family in New York. Their children were born and educated here. A temporary plan slowly became a life.

Before taking over Xochimilco, Rafael spent years in restaurants, learning service and kitchen work. Suzanna worked as a barista at a university in Manhattan.

When the opportunity came in 2006, neither of them could afford to leave their existing jobs immediately. Their children helped between school and work because the family could not afford for the restaurant to fail.

Rafael did not finish college himself. Watching his children graduate became part of what he was proud to have built in New York.

The Mata family.
Behind the counter, the family embraces.

Before a plate reaches the table

"We casually say a number, but it is a lot of work," Jordana Mata said. "A lot of sacrifice and many sleepless nights."

Down a narrow staircase, staff wash, cut, and prepare ingredients in the basement.

For Giovanni Mata, the difficulty of running a neighborhood restaurant extends beyond the kitchen: rent, food costs, weather, staffing, city regulations, and the uncertain flow of customers.

To find the ingredients the restaurant depends on, he sometimes drives across the city and visits several Mexican markets in Queens.

Before opening, an employee carries a stack of basins through the narrow stockroom.
The basement prep room.
Washing, cutting, and preparation take place one level below the dining room.
In the kitchen, Giovanni drains a large basin of tomatoes.
An employee carries a rubber floor mat on the narrow staircase between the basement and the kitchen.

The trunk fills with cases of produce and bags of supplies. They travel from Queens markets back to Melrose Avenue, where another service will begin.

The trunk is packed with produce and supplies for the trip back to Melrose Avenue.
At a Queens market, Giovanni selects a case of Mexican tomatoes.
A worker carries a wooden crate of produce beside an open car trunk.

Food as recognition

"For someone who had to leave home for a better life, a plate of food can send them back, even when home is thousands of miles away," Jordana Mata said.

At 653 Melrose Avenue, the restaurant sits among the South Bronx neighborhoods of Melrose, Longwood, and Hunts Point. Jordana describes its food as a connection to the places guests have left.

A plate of tacos comes together in the kitchen.
Kitchen staff pass finished dishes through the service window.
Steam rises from plates as the dining room fills for the evening.

On Thursday nights, when dinner slows, the soundboard lights up and a purple microphone turns the front room into a stage.

On Thursday karaoke night, a singer takes the purple microphone.
He carries the song through the room and up to the guests’ tables.

Like a family

The Mata family describes regulars asking after Rafael and Suzanna when they are away, and returning with partners, children, birthdays, anniversaries, and old stories.

"We love our customers and the friendships that grew here," Jordana Mata said. "Some were single when we met them. Now they are married and have children. We built one big family."

Suzanna works alongside staff behind the counter.

Please, make yourself at home.

Jordana greets an employee she has not seen in a long time.