MELINDA ARQUERO
Pueblo de Cochiti, New Mexico
Truth be told, if you ask Melinda Arquero and her partner, Adam Suina, what really enticed them to attend a meeting for small-business owners, the honest answer is free food. A prospect that surely strengthens any invitation.
"I was like, okay, let's go check it out, see what it is,” said Melinda. “So we got ready and we went over. It turned out to be a blessing to us.”
Truth be told, if you ask Melinda Arquero and her partner, Adam Suina, what really enticed them to attend a meeting for small-business owners, the honest answer is free food. A prospect that surely strengthens any invitation.
"I was like, okay, let's go check it out, see what it is,” said Melinda. “So we got ready and we went over. It turned out to be a blessing to us.”
“It just turned into one meeting after another. And later on down the line it turned into something a little bit bigger, and then it turned into this,” Adam said.
"As I've gotten to know Adam and Melinda a little bit more, it seems like an entrepreneurial spirit was always there and it just kind of woke up through that experience,” said Aaron Reimer, a Rural Development Specialist with RCAC. “They want to create and build things that are their own while also being able to give something to their community,” remarked Aaron.
“It just turned into one meeting after another. And later on down the line it turned into something a little bit bigger, and then it turned into this,” Adam said.
"As I've gotten to know Adam and Melinda a little bit more, it seems like an entrepreneurial spirit was always there and it just kind of woke up through that experience,” said Aaron Reimer, a Rural Development Specialist with RCAC. “They want to create and build things that are their own while also being able to give something to their community.”
While growing up on the Pueblo de Cochiti, Melinda and her mother sold their homemade food on the side of the road together. “That was to make ends meet,” Melinda said.
Melinda’s mother, Sylvia, taught her everything she knows about cooking, but most importantly that “you cook from the heart. Like you're cooking for your family,” she recalls. So now, “Whoever comes, we make sure they eat good. They feel good when they leave. They get the soul food.”
Photos provided by Melinda Arquero.
The mother-daughter duo often set up near the spillway of the Cochiti Lake Dam during holidays. They sold their food to visitors of the lake and the nearby Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located on Pueblo land.
The beauty of these lands makes them a temporary destination for many tourists. But for Melinda and her mother, the place provided both a way to make ends meet and a space to dream about something more. It was here they first talked about one day turning their roadside stand into a food truck.
The mother-daughter duo often set up near the spillway of the Cochiti Lake Dam during holidays. They sold their food to visitors of the lake and the nearby Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, located on Pueblo land.
The beauty of these lands makes them a temporary destination for many tourists. But for Melinda and her mother, the place provided both a way to make ends meet and a space to dream about something more. It was here they first talked about one day turning their roadside stand into a food truck.
Pueblo de Cochiti is a census-designated place located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of a handful of Pueblos located along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Originally known in the Keresan language as ko-tyīt', the Pueblo de Cochiti is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
It’s a rural place that’s home to Pueblo cultures and the Keresan people who have occupied the region for thousands of years. The Cochiti Tribe currently administers 53,779 acres of reservation land.
It’s a rural place that’s home to Pueblo cultures and the Keresan people who have occupied the region for thousands of years. The Cochiti Tribe currently administers 53,779 acres of reservation land.
Pueblo de Cochiti is a census-designated place located between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of a handful of Pueblos located along the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Originally known in the Keresan language as ko-tyīt', the Pueblo de Cochiti is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
It’s a rural place that’s home to Pueblo cultures and the Keresan people who have occupied the region for thousands of years. The Cochiti Tribe currently administers 53,779 acres of reservation land.
Pueblo de Cochiti is currently home to around 1,500 residents. Because of the area's relatively low population, as well as its rural location and Tribal government, it’s often seen as an investment risk. Big businesses that already possess the capital needed to open in such locations see little potential to make a profit, while traditional banks and financial institutions see little incentive for lending to entrepreneurs or small businesses.
“It's gotten a lot more difficult for people to build equity than it was 20 or 30 years ago, especially younger people. Financial institutions have become less flexible, resulting in a wider gap for people to access loans through traditional means. There's a stat from the Kauffman Foundation that I quote pretty often. Less than 18% of small businesses nationally will ever access a traditional bank loan. It's difficult,” states RCAC's Aaron Reimer. So when it comes to Cochiti Pueblo, these statistics are even more limited.
The current system produces a problem for folks like Melinda and Adam. In Pueblo de Cochiti, it means that many have to drive 35 minutes to Santa Fe or 45 minutes to Albuquerque to work or start their own brick-and-mortar businesses.
The current system produces a problem for folks like Melinda and Adam. In Pueblo de Cochiti, it means that many have to drive 35 minutes to Santa Fe or 45 minutes to Albuquerque to work or start their own brick-and-mortar businesses.
The current system produces a problem for folks like Melinda and Adam. In Pueblo de Cochiti, it means that many have to drive 35 minutes to Santa Fe or 45 minutes to Albuquerque to work or start their own brick-and-mortar businesses.
Years after her mother’s passing, the dream of starting a food truck hadn’t left Melinda. “I remember telling my dad, 'I found a food truck and I'm going to get it.' He said, 'how much is it?' I told him it’s $19,500 and he's like, 'Well, I'll help you pay for half,'” she remembers.
But even with financial help from her ailing father, acquiring a loan proved to be a challenge. According to local traditional banks, food trucks don’t qualify for business loans that usually have lower interest rates than other types of loans.
After months of saving and building her credit score, Melinda applied for and received a high-interest personal loan from an area credit union that allowed her to purchase the truck.
Melinda and Adam began selling a lot of the same things Melinda and her mother sold roadside – fry bread, Indian tacos, and Frito pies.
“Our first event was a Santo Domingo feast. We did fry bread and Indian tacos there. That was very eye-opening for us. We had a line. We sold out within 2 hours, and I believe we made 30 pounds of bread dough that day,” she remembers fondly.
That day was a smashing success.
Melinda and Adam planned to enter the market during the high season of 2020. They’d invest their surplus income to purchase the required generator and a fire suppressant system. And in order to sell food in areas outside of Pueblo lands – like Santa Fe and Albuquerque – they would need to obtain mobile food unit permits to adequately meet customer demand.
Melinda and Adam began selling a lot of the same things Melinda and her mother sold roadside – fry bread, Indian tacos, and Frito pies.
“Our first event was a Santo Domingo feast. We did fry bread and Indian tacos there. That was very eye-opening for us. We had a line. We sold out within 2 hours, and I believe we made 30 pounds of bread dough that day,” she remembers fondly.
That day was a smashing success.
Melinda and Adam planned to enter the market during the high season of 2020. They’d invest their surplus income to purchase the required generator and a fire suppressant system. And in order to sell food in areas outside of Pueblo lands – like Santa Fe and Albuquerque – they would need to obtain mobile food unit permits to adequately meet customer demand.
But before that could happen, Covid-19 hit. Pueblo de Cochiti went on lockdown. “It put everything to a halt. We just had the food truck parked in the yard. And I was like, Oh, what are we going to do?” she remembers.
While the truck sat there, Melinda had loan payments to make.
But before that could happen, Covid-19 hit. Pueblo de Cochiti went on lockdown. “It put everything to a halt. We just had the food truck parked in the yard. And I was like, Oh, what are we going to do?” she remembers.
While the truck sat there, Melinda had loan payments to make.
When the world reemerged from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Melinda and Adam found themselves struggling under the weight of debt. The world was moving again, but their food truck sat still.
Luckily, during this dire time they made the decision to attend their first RCAC small-business class. It proved to be their opportunity to get moving again.
Aaron worked closely with Adam and Melinda throughout the process. Through RCAC’s guidance, the two received training in small business accounting, bookkeeping, and reporting.
“Aaron, I like to call him our business coach. He was wonderful. Any problem or any question, it doesn't matter any time of the day, we would call him and he would find out for us,” said Melinda. “I don’t think we would be as successful without Aaron.”
Additionally, RCAC helped them secure the organization’s Re-emerging Loan Fund (RELieF) which ultimately funded them for $25,000. That allowed them to invest in a new generator, the requisite fire suppression system, marketing materials like T-shirts and stickers, and the refinancing of the high-interest loan Melinda received to purchase the truck.
Additionally, RCAC helped them secure the organization’s Re-emerging Loan Fund (RELieF) which ultimately funded them for $25,000. That allowed them to invest in a new generator, the requisite fire suppression system, marketing materials like T-shirts and stickers, and the refinancing of the high-interest loan Melinda received to purchase the truck.
With the help of RCAC – and many others along the way – Adam and Melinda have been able to make a living, share a part of Pueblo culture through their food, and help their community all at the same time through Over The Moon. And most importantly, they are able to remain in the place their family and Tribe have called home for generations.
With the help of RCAC – and many others along the way – Adam and Melinda have been able to make a living, share a part of Pueblo culture through their food, and help their community at the same time through Over The Moon. And most importantly, they are able to remain in the place their family and Tribe have called home for generations.
Published 2024
