We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melinda Archuleta a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Melinda , thanks for joining us today. Day to day the world can seem like a tough place, but there’s also so much kindness in the world and we think talking about that kindness helps spread it and make the world a nicer, kinder place. Can you share a story of a time when someone did something really kind for you?
I think this one might be a cheat, because it’s not related to business at all, directly.
I am a work-aholic, I always have been, and as a result, I don’t take great care of myself. There’s too much to do, you see?
So when my not yet husband saw me at the end of a long day, and offered to wash my feet for me, I cried. I
t brought me back to when I was traveling with my mother in Mexico visiting her sister. That day, we went for a really long walk along some ruins in brand new huaraches, and by the end of it our feet were so dirty, tired and had been bitten by dozens of tiny bugs.
As soon as we returned to my Aunt’s, I went and I washed my feet and as soon as I came downstairs I realized that my moms feet were just as bad, I went right back up, grabbed a warm washcloth and washed her feet in the living room.
The look on her face, and the tears in her eyes… it was exactly the same experience that I had when Cooper did that for me.
When you’re always hustling, you forget how important and easy it is to care for yourself.
When somebody else steps in to do it, it is an expression of pure love.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Mel—short for Melinda Archuleta. When I moved to Portland, I stopped using my full name because I didn’t want people to have preconceptions about me based on a name that I felt was too girly and, frankly, too white.
Before Portland, I spent a long time in San Diego. I grew up in Santa Ana and a little town in Riverside County called Norco, so San Diego was practically next door, and while I was there, I was doing pretty unfulfilling work in the mortgage industry while going to college part-time. Eventually, I left that career to go back to school full-time. But I quickly realized that I was bored without work, so I picked up a couple of side jobs that aligned with what I was studying. One of those was at a sushi restaurant downtown, where I hoped to improve my Japanese after years of studying but not quite mastering it. The other job, just down the street from my house, turned out to be the one that changed everything for me.
I worked at a local brunch spot called Jimmy Carter’s, and it completely reshaped how I saw the restaurant industry. It wasn’t just about service, which I ended up falling in love with—it was about creating a space that could be whatever you wanted it to be. Jimmy’s menu featured Indian, American, and Mexican dishes side by side, and somehow, it worked. The breakfast menu was streamlined in a way that felt natural, where you could just as easily order a traditional American breakfast (buckwheat pancakes), an authentic Huevos Rancheros or dive straight into a bold, spicy Indian curry and crepe complete with fiery chutneys, first thing in the morning. That experience taught me something valuable: when people wake up, they’re still figuring out their day, and there’s an openness to what they’re willing to try. That fluidity in dining stuck with me.
When I moved to Portland, my original plan was to live in a more affordable city where I could buy a home and maybe start a business down the line. I didn’t expect that business to happen so quickly. I started working in local spots, eventually landing at a great bar where I met my future business partners. Together, we opened Bar Carlo—on basically no money and with a completely different concept than what it is today. The original plan was Italian fine dining, but the space needed too much work, and we needed a faster way to open. Marcus, Carlos’s dad, and I both had experience in brunch and loved it for the same reasons, so we pivoted and opened as a brunch spot just to get our feet under us.
Like most partnerships, things eventually fell apart. What I learned from that experience is that no two people will ever have the exact same vision, goals, or way of thinking, let alone three. Relationships—whether in business or life—are fundamentally hard because we all come with our own experiences, perspectives, and priorities. Within a few years, I became the sole owner of Bar Carlo and had to figure things out fast. I borrowed a culinary school cookbook from Carlos’s mom, read it cover to cover, and that became my education. From that point on, it was all about doing the work—day in and day out—to build up the skills that would put us among the best brunch spots in Portland.
Bar Carlo, in many ways, was always destined to be a Mexican-American restaurant. Inspired by my experiences growing up as a Chicana and traveling back and forth across the border with my family, it naturally evolved into what it is today. But branding? That took longer. For a long time, I didn’t even realize I was building a brand. The shift happened when my friend, who was renting retail space at the restaurant, introduced me to a graphic design website she used for print materials. I did a quick search for something that could unify both of our spaces, and I came across this ridiculous image of a cactus banana. That became our logo.
Then the pandemic hit. Lockdown forced us to reimagine everything, and since I don’t do well with boredom, I threw myself into revamping the restaurant’s interior. Bar Carlo had always been evolving, but this felt like the right time to fully embrace our identity—not taking ourselves too seriously, creating a space that felt inviting, playful, and authentic to who we were. This is when Bar Carlo truly become a representation and extension of me.
I’m incredibly proud of what Bar Carlo has become. What started as a scramble to open a business has turned into a neighborhood favorite, a place where people don’t just eat but linger, celebrate, and return to time and time again. We’ve expanded into private events, refined our menus, and continued evolving while staying true to the warmth of Mexican-American hospitality.
What sets Bar Carlo apart is that it’s not just about food—it’s about creating an experience. Whether you’re here for brunch, a cocktail at the bar, or hosting a private event, we want you to feel at home. We’ve worked hard to make this space something special, and I invite anyone who hasn’t been to come in, sit down, and see for themselves what makes Bar Carlo different.
Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?
Oh my goodness—money is the number one stressor in the restaurant business. I can’t even count the number of times I worried about making payroll. Somehow, I always managed to find some, but it was terrifying every time. You see it coming down the line, and there’s nothing you can do to avoid it. You just want to hide. But in those moments, you have to pull yourself up and figure out your next move—there’s no time for wallowing.
For the first ten years, I gave every penny I had to keep the restaurant alive. When I saw that pattern, I had to rethink our payables, making sure I could stretch things just one more day. I’m lucky to have an optimistic outlook—I can always see the light at the end of the tunnel, always sense the next big thing on the horizon. That mindset kept me from sinking too far into the stress.
Right before the pandemic, we were finally in a good place. We were in the black, which was rare for us in the beginning of the year—normally, that’s the hardest time. But after the pandemic, with the Payroll Protection Program and other small business grants, I lost that constant fear of not having enough money. For over two years, we had a financial cushion, something I’d never really experienced before. But then, I watched that cushion dwindle down to nothing, and suddenly, it felt like I was starting all over again. I had to relearn the same survival skills that got us through the first decade.
Historically, my tolerance for risk has been high—I credit that to my dad. Over time, my perspective on debt has also evolved. I’ve become comfortable with the fact that the restaurant carries debt, because I now understand that it’s completely normal for businesses. Cash flow isn’t consistent, and running a business with debt on the balance sheet is just the reality of the industry.
I think a lot of small business owners—especially those of us who aren’t white men—expect that we should be able to cover every expense, have savings, and always be financially prepared. We don’t realize that so many other businesses out there are operating with debt as part of their normal financial structure. Something about learning that was liberating.
Of course, I’d love to live in a world where the restaurant always covered its own expenses, where I never had to worry about money. But at this point, I’ve accepted that this is just part of the game.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
In the restaurant business, it can feel like all you’re doing is pivoting. Every time you tweak the menu, redesign a flyer, or adjust your social media strategy, it’s a pivot—small, but still a shift. But last year, I faced a pivot so big that it changed the entire way I thought about Bar Carlo’s future.
After the pandemic, the financial cushion that had kept us stable started to disappear. By the second and third quarters of last year, our sales had dropped 20% compared to the previous year. It felt like a runaway train—we were heading straight for disaster. This wasn’t a problem a new social media campaign or a price increase could fix. It was a massive financial hit, and I had to find a way to turn things around.
I had been toying with the idea of hosting events at night as a more reliable revenue stream, but this forced me to take that leap immediately. I started digging into our expenses and debt more deeply than ever before—something I had only begun doing last year with the help of coaches and mentors. Looking back, I think this was the first truly calculated risk I had ever taken.
And it turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Before this, people associated Bar Carlo so strongly with brunch that they were confused about what we did after breakfast service ended and our sales at night never picked up. Shifting to a model where we hosted events in the evenings not only gave us a second revenue stream but also helped solidify our brand in the eyes of our existing customers.
I wish I had listened to my gut earlier so we could have reaped the rewards of this pivot instead of spending those gains to pay back debt.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.barcarlopdx.com
- Instagram: @barcarlopdx
