Prickly Pear Margarita

Five months open. Jessica delivered the five-month financial report at the kitchen table on Monday evening, after the kids were in bed, with the gravity of a surgeon delivering test results. The verdict: Rivera's is profitable. Not wildly profitable, not retire-early profitable, not call-Diego-at-USC-and-tell-him-he-can-study-whatever-he-wants profitable (Diego is six — USC is twelve years away — but I think about these things because I am a father and fathers think about tuition the way fire captains think about building codes: constantly and with low-grade anxiety). But profitable. The revenue exceeds the expenses. The trend is up. The catering arm is contributing steady monthly income. The Saturday birria tacos alone generate enough revenue to cover Alejandro's salary. The fire is paying for itself.

Jessica presented the numbers with the precision I expect from a woman who has been an accountant for seventeen years and who was promoted to senior partner because she can make a spreadsheet sing opera. She also presented a projection: if current trends hold, Rivera's will break even on the initial investment — the savings, the loan, Michael Torres's equity — within eighteen months. Eighteen months. We opened five months ago expecting a two-year break-even. We are ahead of schedule. The fire is faster than the plan.

I called Michael Torres to share the news. Michael — the investor who put in $50,000 for 20% equity based on a brisket demo at a food festival and a handshake and a belief in the story — said, "Marcus, I knew this would work. Not because of the numbers. Because of the food. The food does not lie." Michael is a businessman who talks about food the way poets talk about love. He is the right investor for Rivera's. He believed in the fire before the fire was profitable, and now the fire is rewarding his belief.

At the restaurant, I promoted Tomás. Not in title — his title is still sous chef — but in responsibility. Starting this month, Tomás runs the kitchen on Sundays while I take the day off. A full day off. The first weekly day off since Rivera's opened. Jessica insisted. My knee insisted. My body insisted. The body that ran into burning buildings for twenty-eight years is now standing at a smoker for eighteen hours a day and the body has opinions about this schedule and the opinions are all variations of "stop." I will not stop. But I will take Sundays. The fire will burn without me for one day a week. Tomás will tend it. The fire trusts Tomás. I trust Tomás. Sunday belongs to the family.

Jessica closed the laptop, I closed the restaurant for the night, and for the first time in five months I did not have anything left to prove to a spreadsheet. The kids were asleep, Diego had twelve more years before I needed to panic about USC tuition, and my knee was already filing its nightly complaint. A cold beer felt too ordinary for a night like this—but a prickly pear margarita, something bright and a little unexpected, something that looked as good as the numbers felt? That was the right drink for a man whose fire was finally paying for itself.

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes | Total Time: 5 minutes | Servings: 1

Ingredients

2 oz silver tequila
1 oz prickly pear syrup
1 oz fresh lime juice (about 1 large lime)
1/2 oz triple sec or Cointreau
1/2 oz agave nectar (adjust to taste)
Ice, for shaking and serving
Coarse salt or sugar, for rimming the glass
1 lime wedge and a slice of prickly pear fruit, for garnish

Instructions

Rim the glass. Run a lime wedge around the edge of a rocks glass, then press the rim into coarse salt or sugar on a small plate. Fill the glass with ice and set aside.
Combine the cocktail. Add the tequila, prickly pear syrup, fresh lime juice, triple sec, and agave nectar to a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well. Seal the shaker and shake vigorously for 15–20 seconds until the outside of the shaker is very cold.
Strain and serve. Strain the margarita over the ice in your prepared glass. Garnish with a lime wedge and a slice of prickly pear fruit if available. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Prickly Pear Margarita — Raise a Glass When the Fire Pays for Itself