Chili Verde Celebrates Fifteen Years With Special Menus, Mariachi

Brothers Eder and Hanzel Yañez-Mota grew up in Mexico and always dreamed of opening a business together. At first they thought of a nightclub, but decided against it because of the late hours. Then they thought, "Let’s open up a sushi restaurant, because we love sushi," Eder recalls. "But two Mexicans owning a sushi place — nobody’s gonna show up," he jokes.

When their parents visited Denver from Mexico, they were disappointed in the food. "My dad would say, 'Why are you bringing us to these restaurants? They’re not good,'" says Eder. "My tastebuds had changed — food for me that was good wasn't good for my parents, so that’s when we decided to open up a Mexican restaurant."

Seven months later, Chili Verde opened in the Highland neighborhood in 2009. A kitchen fire in 2012 forced the family to close the original location, but it reopened at 2311 Federal Boulevard and has been a staple for Mexican cuisine ever since.

The family's hometown of Puebla, one hour south of Mexico City, is known for specialties such as mole and chiles en nogada, two of the most popular dishes on the Chili Verde menu. When the restaurant first opened, "I didn’t know how to cook, nor did my brother," Eder says. "My dad and my mom were the ones helping us in the kitchen and training everybody" for the first few years.

"My mom is an excellent cook but used to take her time to cook everything," he adds. "It was a Friday night; we were so busy, and my mom was taking her time basting the egg [for chile relleno], and we were like, 'Mom, just please hurry up, we are getting behind.'" To that, she responded, "Do you want me to teach you the right way or not?"
Although their father, Andres, passed away seven years ago, their mother, Chisel Mota-González, can still be found in the kitchen doing things the right way — even on a busy Friday night.

She'll be on hand for the restaurant's fifteenth-anniversary celebration, too. From June 28 to 30, each family member will cook special items alongside customer favorites.

"We cannot forget about the dishes that helped us out throughout the years, like the mole poblano, poblano crepes and of course, chile relleno and en nogado. We’re going to keep those three dishes, but it will be a different menu during those three days, with each of us in charge of a dish," says Eder.

The lineup includes the family's personal off-menu favorites such as leche de tigre mahi mahi, puerco con calabacitas, pollo a santa, sweet tamales, crepes flambe and more. A live mariachi band is slated to perform during dinner on Saturday, June 29.
The restaurant, modest both outside and in, offers anything but modest food and beverages. From homemade chips and salsa before the meal to rich, complex moles, crepes (a Pueblan alternative to corn tortillas) and margaritas made with tepache (fermented pineapple juice) are just a few of the offerings that make Chili Verde stand out on a street lined with Mexican restaurants.

"It’s not easy to have a restaurant for fifteen years, especially nowadays," Eder notes. "The reason why we are surviving is because we know how to do everything — cook, bartend, wait tables — so if somebody doesn’t show up, we jump in. Plus, it helps our budget and helps us provide better customer service. We keep being busy because people like to know who the owner is."

Chili Verde is located at 2311 Federal Boulevard and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, visit chiliverdedenver.com or call 720-287-2296 for reservations.