Alejandro Barrientos, a Midland restaurant owner, said he began his culinary journey while still working, initially experimenting with barbecue, which eventually led him to catering events for friends and colleagues before venturing into the restaurant business. Barrientos was a guest on a recent episode of the Best of Midland Podcast.
“Before I went actually into culinary school, I was doing barbecue, and I love barbecue, and that's what really got me excited about it," said Barrientos on a recent edition of the Best of Midland Podcast. “It wasn't until one of my friends came over to eat, he's like, 'Hey, I'm having a baby shower, can you cater it?' and I was like, 'I've never catered, what do you mean, cater? I have no permits, no anything.' He goes, 'Just make the food, I pay for it,' and I was like, 'Okay, cool, let's do it.”
“I went to Sam's, shout out to Sam's, the biggest supporter of small local businesses 'cause, you know, it's accessible to get industrial-grade products,” Barrientos said. “And went to Sam's, bought a bag of chips, a bunch of pulled pork butts, bread, and then put on my Facebook. Then me and my wife started trying to get as many people as we could for one day. Then we just sold pulled pork sandwiches out of the car."
Barrientos is a restaurateur who transitioned from operating a food truck to owning the Curbside Bistro in Midland.
Best of Midland Podcast is hosted by Ryan Shewchuk and Terra Avery. It is an extension of the broader Best of Midland program, which aims to support small, local businesses by showcasing them and the people behind them. Their website lists top businesses and upcoming live events happening in the area.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.