Today, Richard Carbajal, Jr owns and operates El Molino Mexican Cafe. His Great-Grandmother, Maria Munoz, was born Maria Flores in Chihuahua, Mexico and came to New Mexico with her family in 1893 at the age of 10. The family moved around quite a bit in the Southwest and in 1903, Maria met and married Julian Munoz. In 1907 she was widowed with two daughters, Ruth and Rosa, and a son, Julian on the way. Maria supported herself and her children finding domestic work wherever she could. In 1924, Rosa married Joe Carbajal and the family settled in Morenci, Arizona.

The Carbajal family earned a living in the nearby copper mines but in 1933 the mines closed in the height of the Depression. The family, including Joe and Rosa and their children, was forced to move to find work in the Phoenix, AZ area. Joe found work as a machinist for the Phelps-Dodge Company. In 1936 he crafted the first mannequin out of iron which was shipped to San Francisco for the World's Fair. Because Rosa was armed with her mother's original tamale recipe, she was able to successfully sell them to local restaurants and chuck wagons to supplement the family's income. When a Chinese owner of the Saguaro Restaurant wanted to order two dozen tamales, he misspoke and ordered 2,000 tamales. Rosa quickly gathered family and friends and made the 2000 tamales in record time before the error was discovered. The extra tamales were sold for 5 cents apiece to a wide variety of people. It was through this experience that the family realized they could operate a thriving business. And Joe, the engineer, invented and was granted a patent for the first refrigerated tamale making machine. With this, the concept for El Molino Mexican Cafe was born. And it continues it's tradition of authentic Mexican food today. The location has changed from Phoenix to Scottsdale but Maria Munoz's original recipes that were handed down to her daughter Rosa Carbajal remain the same. Enjoy one of Mexico's imported beers or a glass of wine while dining inside or out on El Molino's patio. Open Monday through Saturday's 9:00 am - 8:00 pm closed on Sundays.

Catering is available and can be ordered on-line at elmolinocafe.com. Out of state shipping of El Molino's delicious cuisine is also available.