CHICAGO (WLS) — It’s one of the hottest new Mexican restaurants in town, but within its walls is much more than a well-curated menu.
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Cerdito Muerto tells a story of Chicago history and one immigrant family’s personal and culinary journey.
For owner Emidio Oceguera, the restaurant is also a homecoming. He grew up in Pilsen and took a chance on creating a business deeply personal to his Mexican roots.
“I just remember thinking like oh this is going to be great when this is mine. I’m going to do something pretty fun here”
The building is now home to Cerdito Muerto, which translates to “Dead Piglet.” The name of the restaurant and cocktail bar pays homage to Day of the Dead traditions as well as Oceguera’s family’s rural upbringing in Jalisco, Mexico.
“My father got here in 1973. A family friend was operating a barbershop at the time, and my father rented out a cot in the basement for a few months while he got on his feet”
The building predates the Chicago Fire, and Oceguera was raised upstairs. He says his father bought the building in 1983 and turned it into a pool hall, where his mother would eventually cook and sell food to customers.
“which was a safe haven for a lot of young brown men that were getting into this neighborhood at that time”
With a hospitality degree under his belt and several years of managing top restaurants in Chicago, Oceguera opened Cerdito Muerto last year. The restaurant blends the old with the new, with Oceguera drawing inspiration from his family.
“So small batch cooking and small batch drinks “
“I have my sister’s tinga recipe, which is so good. Anyone’s tinga is so hard to do right. And my sister’s been doing it since I could remember”
The menu also features drinks including homemade grapefruit soda, which is used in the restaurant’s paloma cocktails. The result is a cozy, intimate space built around family and community.
For Oceguera, operating the restaurant in the neighborhood where he grew up also comes with a sense of responsibility.
“I am a representation of what this neighborhood is and what it is turning into. So I do feel a lot of pressure just to do it right, with respect, and just honor all those people that have paved the way for someone like me to step and up”
Oceguera says he wants to continue welcoming new and old faces to Cerdito Muerto and become a long-term fixture in the neighborhood while staying true to his values and culture.
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