Our story.

Sazón’s sister business—our restaurant, Burritos Alinstante—has been operating out of our original location on the Chavez family property in Belen, New Mexico, since 1989. Burritos Alinstante’s building was once Ernest's New & Used Furniture. Ernest and Laca Chavez, lifetime residents of Belen, owned and operated this second-hand store. It sat empty for a few years until Shirley Chavez, Laca's daughter-in-law, formulated a new plan: Shirley set out to open her own business called Chavez Tortillas!

Everyone in the family worked very hard to make tortillas and deliver them to local grocery stores all over Albuquerque and Valencia County. However, tortillas proved to be difficult to make well in a homemade fashion for an inexpensive price, and Shirley quickly came to realize that her dream was not working out as she'd planned.

Shirley kept things simple by making food she was familiar with and followed family and New Mexico tradition. She sent her daughter Mary Ellen to the local grocery store every morning to buy supplies for freshly cooked food. 

A tragic accident took the life of Shirley Chavez when she was merely 43 years old, on a Sunday afternoon in July, 1997. Miraculously, the collision from an oncoming truck left Mary Ellen as the sole survivor. Mary Ellen was sped to a nearby hospital by ambulance; she was released a few days later with superficial bodily wounds and an utterly broken heart. In mourning for the sudden loss of her beloved mother, she resolved to fulfill Shirley's dream.

Mary Ellen has owned and operated Burritos Alinstante ever since, with a team of incredible and dedicated women. Their love and commitment to making the best authentic New Mexican food has led to a new endeavor that fulfill’s Shirley’s dream in a whole new way with Sazón.