Mimi's Star Café
Our Story
Built on family effort, Mimi’s Star Café is grounded in a simple idea - treat people with warmth and put real care into every plate. Lucy Barrientos and Noel Salguero bring that spirit into the café every day, creating a place that feels intimate, casual, and easy to settle into, with service rooted in gratitude and respect for every guest. Chef-driven comfort food, local ingredients, vegetarian options, and a welcoming dining room give the experience its character. Guests come for crisp waffles, layered benedicts, skillet plates, fresh salads, and coffee that makes it easy to stay awhile.
History Behind Mimi's Star Café
In 2018 a beautiful and hard-working family from Europe opened Mimi's Star Café. Jessie and her husband, Chipi, named the café after the endearment Jessie called her elder son. Jessie and her husband put all their heart and effort into the place, but decided the café wasn't the right fit for them.
With the financial assistance of extended family, the Barrientos family purchased Mimi's Star Café in 2019. Lucy Barrientos is the fourth child of seven from a broken marriage. When she was twelve years old, their dad passed away. This made their lives complicated financially since he was the only provider for this family. One of the eldest sisters, Margarita, was the only one able to help economically. She worked as a server in a Mexican restaurant. In a short period of time, the family noticed that even though Maggi was doing everything she could to support her own family and siblings, it simply was not enough. Lucy, being the sister just younger than Maggi, knew that she needed to start working as well to support the younger siblings. At the age of fourteen, she left her small village to work as a maid in Leon Guanajuato working seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. In that way, she could reduce some of her sister's burden.
Margarita is the sister whom Lucy admires the most. Not only because she supported and stood up for her family at the age of seventeen, but because she taught her precious values, like treating people as she wants to be treated, to show love to anyone without caring about race, status or color, because we are all human beings and we are not perfect. We all have sinned and will continue sinning. But the most important thing she taught her is to be grateful to Jehovah God for everything we are capable of doing and being.
Lucy arrived in the United States on February 14, 2006, on a Monday, and started working as a busgirl. Not knowing English at all was a huge struggle for her because she didn't even know how to ask for the restroom! To this day, she is still not confident in her English. For years she has been waitressing at Mexican restaurants, but she had a dream of having her own family restaurant.
She managed to convince her husband, Noel Salguero, to buy Mimi's Star Café when she saw that it was up for sale. This was not an easy endeavor! They had to invest everything they had saved for the last eight years, and more, to buy their own home. Also, Noel had started his own landscaping business, which he loved doing and was starting to do really well. He gave up his dream job, something that he really enjoyed, to become the main chef.
Their savings weren't enough to buy the place so they had to ask for help from some of their closest family members. Included were four of Lucy's siblings: Celia Barrientos, the one who keeps Mimi's Star Café clean and sanitary on weekends, and takes care of the children on weekdays; Margarita Barrientos, the one who bosses everyone around! She can do any position; Alma Barrientos is a soul full of energy who takes care of the customers by serving them along with her husband, Hammad Malik, and her sister, Lucy Barrientos. Last but not least of the siblings that helped purchase the café was Salvador Barrientos. He has decided not to be included in the business.
From Noel's family, his brothers, Elmer Salguero, Ávida Salguero and Yamilet, his wife, Elder Salguero and Adrian Salguero all helped financially as well.
They are not the only ones that we have to thank for helping make Mimi's Star Café stay in business! Lucy has friends who have always been there for her: Jimmie Evans, Yesica Perez, Kareny Garcia, and Abraham Mendoza. There are many more people to thank! Specifically, all the customers, because Mimi's is nothing without them! A special thanks to Burley and his wife Linda, Gary Downs and his wife Diane, Tom and wife Kim Kee, Bubba, Stuart Chambers, George Lynch Jr, John Mattioli, David Nunn, Tom and his wife, Nancy, Laura Anne Ayres, Mark Menzies, David Rick Smith, Mr. Steve Dennis and his wife, all of whom have become, not only loyal customers, but friends to the Barrientos family.