Dora Ruiz learned to cook from her mom growing up in New Mexico. She keeps a picture of her late mother on the wall of her tiny Ferndale restaurant.
"It makes me feel like she's working with me," Ruiz said with a smile.
Ruiz opened the New Mexico Tamale Company 15 months ago to rave reviews. But January is always a tough month, and this February was absolutely brutal.
"It was the perfect storm," Ruiz said.
The string of snowstorms last month forced Ruiz to close the restaurant for five days, costing her more than $8,000.
"When you're hanging on by a thread as it is and then this hits, it's pretty difficult," she said.
Things got so bad Ruiz thought she'd never dig out of her financial disaster and resolved to close her doors for good.
"It was dreadful," Ruiz explained. "It was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever made. What hurt me most was my staff. I could see it in their faces because they've been so dedicated."
Then Ruiz thought of her mother who died 20 years ago after losing a leg to diabetes. Even that, though, never kept her mother out of the kitchen.
"And I said if that didn't hold her down, I'm not gonna let this get me,” Ruiz said.
So, Ruiz made a desperate plea for support on Facebook and the community responded. While she's not out of the woods yet, business is bouncing back.
Ruiz is working six days a week now instead of her usual five to make up all that lost money.
There is now hope in Ruiz’s heart again. It’s hope inspired by a caring community and a mother who gave her daughter all the ingredients for success, even 20 years after her death.
"She gave me that nudge," said Ruiz, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "She told me it isn't time yet."
Patting her heart, and looking skyward, Ruiz said, "I know I'm on the right track."