la cuatro milpas in bloomington
If, by “American Dream”, we mean move to the U.S. from Mexico as a pre-teen, plant your flag in the tundra of Minnesota at the tender age of 14, grow up to open a restaurant in an urban area that would soon see riots and destruction, then open another restaurant in the midst of a global pandemic... Then yes, Hernandez is living the dream.
Not that he’s complaining. In the weeks after opening his third location of Las Cuatro Milpas, this one in Bloomington—the first is a few blocks from George Floyd Square, the second in Atlanta, GA run by a family member—the place was packed with both loyalists and new fans of his family recipes, and weekends saw lines out the door.
As anyone who has ever achieved their dream will tell you, it takes a village. Enter Cory McClure, co-owner of Envision Commercial LLC, along with partner Rafik Moore. “As the name implies, we help tenants envision being owners," McClure told me.
When the East Lake Street building was put on the market by the original owner in 2018, Hernandez was at risk of losing his lease for the Las Cuatro Milpas space. Hernandez wanted to purchase the building but lacked funding, but a win-win situation emerged. Hernandez was introduced to McClure through a real estate broker. Envision Commercial purchased the building and immediately sold it to Hernandez in a contract-for-deed deal. This meant Hernandez managed the building and invested in upgrades, taking the task off McClure’s plate. “In that scenario, we were more like the bank,” explained McClure.
The duo entered into a similar deal with the Bloomington space in June of 2020 through McClure’s solo venture McClure Properties LLC. “This place came up for sale, having been an old Chinese restaurant for 37 years,” McClure explained about the space off of HWY 494. “I bought it, Hernandez invested in improvements, made it their own.”
“We were asked to come to Bloomington, there is a large Hispanic community in Bloomington and Richfield,” Hernandez said.
Last month, the young chef who came to Minnesota for better opportunities was able to fully purchase both the Minneapolis and Bloomington buildings from McClure, achieving the ultimate dream of ownership and independence. “This is something that I always wanted to accomplish,” Hernandez said proudly, as we were crowded into a four top during a typically busy lunch rush.
tacos and birria
Clearly, we all benefit having Las Cuatro Milpas, the four cornfields, around. It was the first restaurant in Minnesota to serve birria tacos, according to Hernandez. Twenty years ago, when Hernandez moved to Minneapolis, the Twin Cities did not have the birria scene there is now. “I was the first person that brought birria to Minnesota,” Hernandez says. “The birria tacos, the quesabirria, no one had those before.” Hernandez’ pride in this dish, hailing from Jalisco State in Mexico, is evident in the restaurant’s moniker, Las Cuatro Milpas Taqueria & Birrieria.
In Mexico, beef, goat and lamb are the essential protein options, but Hernandez added chicken to his menu for the American palate. All are equally decadent, but Hernandez’ personal favorite is the beef, and the man knows his birria. Now, as an independent owner, we just hope he'll open more.
Both locations are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
