“No one gets a day off,” said Emmanuel Ibarra.
His father, Manuel Ibarra, opened the first local El Cerro Grande location in the former Galleria shopping center near Wrightsville Beach in 1991. Now he, his children, and extended family operate 10 restaurants in the Wilmington and Jacksonville areas.
This year s Cinco de Mayo celebration is a little different, though.
It s the first since last year s pandemic-related chaos that prompted a flood of online orders. And it will mark 30 years people have celebrated the holiday with the Ibarra family at its restaurants.
And it really is a family event. Emmanuel Ibarra does the accounting. His sister, Evelin Ibarra, handles social media. And Manuel s youngest, 16-year-old Yareli Ibarra, is learning the business now, starting with hosting duties. Several other friends and family members manage, own, and cook at the locations around town.