Michael Davis
Alma Gutierrez (standing) and her daughters (from left to right) Carina, Lilian, Amaya and Jasmin.
Mother to four girls, Alma Gutierrez is a busy lady. Married to her high school sweetheart Oscar, she has always worked hard and juggled a lot. Graduating from Pitzer College and already a mom, Alma, at 43, has been a teacher, paralegal, realtor and is currently getting her Masters at UMASS Palm Desert, planning to work as a therapist. A lifelong resident of Coachella, she also helps run the family business started by her in-laws: Plaza Garibaldi Restaurant and Garibaldi Meat Market. I asked her when she slept and discovered she is also the sitting Chair for the Coachella Board, a group that is active with the Greater Coachella Chamber of Commerce and the local community.
We met in a colorful booth at the restaurant, bustling with regulars on a Monday morning. With fans above, bright yellow walls and classic Mexican artwork, the inviting family spot in a strip mall was a hub of community activity. Plaza Garibaldi restaurant and the Garibaldi Meat Market across the street — named for a famous square in the artist district of Mexico City where mariachi play and food kiosks are popular — have been in business since 1994 and 2010 respectively. Famous for its lamb birria, a type of hearty goat soup (recipe honed in a kiosk in the Mexico City Plaza in the 1940s by Oscar’s grandpa and brought to the US), the menu is authentic and robust. At one point there was discussion of a kids menu and adding chicken nuggets, but the family did not want to have non-Mexican food. I tried the jamaica (hibiscus) agua fresca even though it was hard to choose, because other options included horchata, pineapple, lemon, strawberry, watermelon and even alfalfa!
Open seven days a week, 7 am to 10 pm, you may find Alma’s mother-in-law working, maybe a daughter peeling onions or tomatillos, and certainly Oscar and/or Alma. Oscar’s parents came from Guadalajara and worked in the meat industry, cleaning homes and packing citrus and dates. I’ve traveled to Guadalajara and loved it; this restaurant captures a lot of the Jaliscan vibe. Jalisco is the Mexican state known for mariachi music and tequila. The capital, Guadalajara, is peppered with colonial plazas and landmarks, and neoclassical architecture.
Oscar runs the business and Alma works behind the scenes doing payroll, scheduling and helping out when needed. The business weathered Covid, taking pay cuts while Alma had to let go of a few other commitments to focus on the restaurant. With a booming take-out business, for many in the community, eating their food helped maintain sanity. They were finally able to re-open to full capacity in March 2021.
Alma, with warm eyes and enviable curly hair, spoke about being a working mom with so much on her plate. She says it was harder with the first two daughters, since the older two helped with the younger ones. She admits she was always juggling (unsurprising to this mom). She chuckled, “you don’t really know it when you are in it.” She says it can be done, but the support is important and she credits the extended family and the fact that Oscar is a beautiful being and never brings home the stress. Being a young mom, she says she always had a lot of energy for Lilian (23), Amaya (21), Carrina (17) and Jasmine (12), but it was harder having Jasmine in her 30s. They all look like sisters and Alma admits occasionally they are more like “little friends,” sometimes making it hard to know when to be firm. Of course each daughter is different and Alma works hard to meet each child where they are. Lilian — a supervisor for an afterschool program — is an avid reader, so they spend time at bookstores together. Amaya is outdoorsy and loves to hike. Carrina loves to cook and bake; something she amped up and they all enjoyed during the pandemic. And Jasmine — the baby — loves vintage everything, so Alma can geek out with her on the more feminine activities.
Alma, surrounded by her girls, Oscar, her mother-in-law (her father-in-law is deceased) and the Plaza Garibaldi staff and greater Coachella community, revels in her full life and says: “every day is different, each phase brings a new challenge.” Alma’s favorites at the restaurant are the lengua (beef tongue) and salsa verde. The restaurant also caters weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, quinceañeras, divorces, or “whatever you want to celebrate.” The family hopes to have the restaurant as long as they can. Look for Alma, her mother-in-law (who will never retire), her girls and Oscar. It takes a village to raise four daughters, run a restaurant and have a thriving career; Alma, the renaissance woman makes it look easy.
Plaza Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant
50057 Harrison Street
Coachella, CA 92236
United States
(760) 398-2788
