Modern Mexican Cuisine

Bucktown × Wicker Park

Marcos Rivera

Owner

Marcos Rivera, Sr. began his career in the restaurant industry as a bus boy at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chicago in 1976, where, in time, he was then promoted to server. He thoroughly enjoyed the business, and dreamt of owning his own restaurant someday. With much hard work and planning, that day came to be, in 1984, when he opened his first restaurant in Rogers Park, near Howard Street. He was inspired by how good food and good drinks could attract so many great people, and an empire was born.

In 1987, Don Marcos expanded into the suburbs with a new location in Glenview, followed by another in Evanston in 1989. Ten years later, the Las Palmas family of restaurants grew yet again, with additional locations in Highland Park and Buffalo Grove.

Despite having his hands full with all these suburban locations, Don Marcos found himself reminiscing about his first location in the city. He missed the city people and their passion for good food. The search was on, and in September of 2001, Don Marcos and his son Marcos, Jr. opened Las Palmas Chicago, at 1835 W. North Avenue.

Marcos, Sr. now enjoys running the restaurant side by side with his daughter Maria, and his son Ricardo. 30 years in the business, and he wouldn’t change a thing.