Signs reading “closed permanently” hang in the windows at Señor Panchos restaurant in Soldotna. (David Hulen / ADN)
People in the Soldotna area love Mexican food. Until recently, if you had driven by the restaurant Señor Panchos, you would have seen what you always see: a full parking lot. Long after the tourists leave and the reds are tucked away in chest freezers across Alaska and beyond, local businesses rely on locals. If you don’t have it just right, you don’t make it. It’s not so much about competition; it’s more about just having enough folks to keep the lights on.
Imagine the excitement when, over 10 years ago, someone came to town and opened a new restaurant, then another. Even better, he kept them open year-round — and the food was excellent. Over the years, he expanded his business, knocking down walls to fill the adjacent empty spaces until the restaurant occupied most of the building. Instead of another half-empty strip mall, there was a vibrant and bustling restaurant.
As his restaurant grew, he hired more local people. The local distributors had another customer. The building owner hired folks to make improvements. A micro-economy of success was built on one man’s ability to make good food.
Things were going so well that years later, he procured a second empty building outside of town. He hired more locals, paid more taxes, he grew his family and enrolled his kids in local public schools. His children grew up in Soldotna and are well-positioned to build upon their father’s legacy of hard work, grit and determination. Perhaps they, too, will stay and help grow the economy and feed all the hungry fishermen who come from around the world to enjoy our waters.
If this isn’t the American dream, then what is?
I only know Francisco Rodriguez-Rincon from speaking to him briefly over the years while I was eating at Panchos. But even so, I have come to admire his success. That’s why his current legal situation — and how the federal government is handling it — leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.
Can someone please tell me how banishing him from my community and country is making Soldotna great again? I guess quite a few folks don’t care because he was here illegally, and if we let him in, where does it stop? Or, they ask, why didn’t he come legally in the first place, or use the many years he lived here to gain legal status? I don’t have the answers to that. If you’re from this country, you probably have no clue how hard it is to become a citizen.
This is what I know: This man has a family like me. His kids and my kids went to school together. He worked hard for everything he has and was an asset to my community. He absolutely earned the right to be here.
It’s hard for me to understand that we as a community and country are better off by sending him to jail indefinitely in Washington state. We can’t even decide what to do with him. Meanwhile, his house in town is for sale, and all the folks he employed are looking for jobs. It’s doubtful anything will move into the building outside of town. If something does, it’ll probably just be another weed store.
No matter what your stance on immigration may be, what they are doing to this man and his family is wrong. At least deport him to Mexico so he can be with his family, for God’s sake. Better yet, let him come back to Soldotna. I doubt many care that he crossed the border illegally back in the ’90s — what matters now is the life he built here.
The federal government is treating him as though he has committed murder for being a successful small-business owner. Good luck, sir. I hope they let you out soon. Thanks for the years of great food and service you provided to Soldotna.
Owen Gaard is a lifelong Alaskan and longtime resident of Soldotna.
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Related news coverage:
Criminal charges against Soldotna restaurant owner held by ICE dropped
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