Café Rio was founded in the bustling, boiling metropolis of St. George, Utah (more commonly known as St. Geezy). The fast-casual Mexican grill offers cuisine inspired by northern Mexico and the southwest United States. Café Rio first came into consciousness for me in 2008 when the growing chain opened a location just a couple miles from my house. The new Café Rio restaurant shared a parking lot with our local Costco Wholesale warehouse, which was frequented by my parents, who had five growing boys’ mouths to feed. Café Rio quickly became a ritualistic part of Costco shopping excursions for thousands. Café Rio took our northwest Las Vegas neighborhood by storm. Our small location was always busy. Everyone had two or three partially filled Café Rio punch cards in their wallet, and they were considered legal tender among my middle school classmates. The chorus of a kitchen crew shouting “FREE MEAL” is a core memory from my adolescence. Café Rio was most famous for its sweet barbacoa p