El Granjero Mexican Grill Embodies Cultural Diversity and Sustainable Purchasing

When Mercedes Lopez first came to the United States, she was amazed by the amount of waste that American restaurants generated. When she opened her own, El Granjero Mexican Grill, she immediately took steps to cut down on that waste. She encouraged employees to bring reusable water bottles for beverages they drank during their shifts and she made it a habit to turn off lights when portions of the restaurant were unoccupied. In addition to participating in the City of Grand Rapids curbside recycling program, she enlisted an employee to return bottles and cans with a deposit—in return the employee was allowed to keep the receipts.

For Lopez, there was more to be done. Mercedes and her daughter, Paola Mendivil, the restaurant’s catering manager, decided they wanted to do more to reduce the amount of waste that the small business was generating. Together, they recruited 12 Latinx businesses (including nine restaurants) to join their Latino Business for Sustainability campaign.  Lopez and Mendivil hope that by collaborating with other Latinx-owned businesses, more customers will be inspired to recycle, compost, and change their behaviors to further advance sustainability in the West Michigan community. 

Those businesses—Cerva Screen Printing, Casa del Pollo Loco, El Globo, El Granjero Mexican Grill, El Toro Bravo, Lindo Mexico Restaurante, Señor Sol Restaurante, Supermercado La Victoria, Tacos El Cuñado Bridge Street, Tamales El Kora, and Tamales Mary—all committed to reducing single-use plastics. As a first step, the collective began researching sources for reusable take-out bags—a project that was interrupted by COVID-19 and the stringent regulation on sanitation that came with it.

Lopez-Duran and Mendivil changed the restaurant’s name to El Granjero, which means the farmer in Spanish, to reflect their desire to have farm fresh ingredients on the menu.

While COVID-19 has postponed that aspect of the project, El Granjero’s dining room reopened in September with reusable plates, cups, and silverware. Its catering operations have used compostable dinnerware for some time now—the restaurant plans on using the same for take-out post-pandemic when business returns to normal. In light of COVID-19, El Granjero has also replaced paper menus with a digital version using a QR code and website. Post-pandemic, they will continue with the digital menu as another method to support the environment.  

El Granjero Mexican Grill also exemplifies corporate social responsibility in its support for the Grand Rapids Latinx community. Its ownership team has participated individually in various community initiatives. Mendivil, who also oversees the restaurant’s day-to-day operations, is active with West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Inforum West Michigan Regional Council, Grand Rapids West Side Corridor Improvement Authority, and Ferris Grand Rapids Alumni Council.

Because of Lopez-Duran’s incredible efforts to create a more sustainable, equitable community, West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum has named El Granjero Mexican Grill as its 2020 West Michigan Person of Color-Led Sustainable Business of the Year. The award recognizes a local person-of-color-led organization that models a commitment to the triple-bottom line, embracing business practices that demonstrate environmental stewardship, economic vitality, and social responsibility. 

This award is selected by members of the WMSBF’s Sustainability & Equity Working Group. It is the second year this award has been given. In 2019, Jim Roberts Enterprises was recognized for his efforts.