Luis Ochoa Owner of El Paraiso near Lakeside Amusement Park at Harlan and 46^th immigrated to the United  States when he was 18 years old in pursuit of the better life. A native of Mexico, he was born near Manzanillo, the place Bo Derek put on the map in the movie “10”.

Ochoa moved first to California and then relocated to Colorado. “It was the same thing  ... Better than California,” he explains. The soft spoken Ochoa is hesitant to this day about his ability to speak English. But he shouldn’t be: he’s become a true American entrepreneur working his way up the ladder in the restaurant biz, working initially for other restaurant groups and then founding his own.

Ochoa initially had two goals in mind when he came to this country: the first was to become a Citizen; the second was to own his own business. He launched his first restaurant in 1987 with two partners in Thornton followed by two more.

Ochoa’s third goal was to help his family members to become gainfully employed American citizens as well. Eleven years ago, he founded El Paraiso Mexican restaurant, a partnership he and his brothers Ramon and Juan maintained until 2001 when the Ochoa brothers each went their separate ways opening two other locations. Luis Ochoa purchased the property El Paraiso Stood on and then set about to buy additional parking and enlarge and cover the restaurant patio.

Today, El Paraiso is the destination for Hispanic nationals and people who just plain love Mexican food that isn’t limited to the ordinary taco, burrito or green chili. On any given weekend, the restaurant is wall to wall with patrons waiting for a table to imbibe on authentic Mexican fare with more than 100 items on the menu.

The mol cajete plate which consists of steamed vegetables, chicken, beef, pork and seafood served in a tub shaped lava stone (mol) bowl is the only dish of its kind served in all of Colorado. The restaurant’s seafood dishes are unequaled and the parrillada – the restaurant’s specialty a mixture of beef, chicken and seafood served with vegetables on a table grill are the most popular among dining guests who appreciate genuine Mexican cuisine.

Then there’s the margaritas made with the beast tequilas from Mexico. And there’s the mariachi band for mood.

One of the hurdles of producing authentic dishes is sourcing the produce. “Authentic”, says Ochoa, “is different than the rest. There are some ingredients that are just not available here”.

To meet that undeserved need, Ochoa also opened an authentic Mexican market, El mercadito Mexican food at 3125 Federal Blvd, his plans there include establishing a restaurant in the same style as el Paraiso.

“ This is hard business… a lot of hours,” says Ochoa of the restaurant industry. He’s got the corner on authentic Mexican spirit and truly Mexican fare. The translation is truly a discovery.