Council member Angel Encinas profiles Espos Mexican Food, a 54‑year Chandler staple in Hightown

Council member Angel Encinas visited Espos Mexican Food in the Hightown neighborhood of Chandler to profile the family-owned restaurant and its ties to the local community.

The segment, part of the council member’s Professionals on the Rise program, focused on Espos’s 54‑year history, how the menu evolved from hamburgers and 5¢ hot dogs into a Mexican‑food specialty, the restaurant’s community role and a new neighborhood mural that involved local residents.

Leon, a restaurant staff member who spoke with Encinas, said Espos began as “Espos hamburgers,” selling shakes, hot dogs and hamburgers before the family’s red and green chile preparations became popular and reshaped the menu. “It is truly a labor of love,” Leon said, describing the restaurant’s process to secure and process Hatch, New Mexico chilies to make the green chile used year‑round. He said the green chile burrito is the restaurant’s most requested item.

Encinas and Leon described Espos as rooted in an agricultural community that the speakers identified as Hightown, Pueblo Alto — roughly three miles west of downtown Chandler. Leon said families in the neighborhood include fourth‑ and fifth‑generation residents who helped the area develop and continued to support the business over decades.

Encinas asked about a mural outside the restaurant; Leon said the Vision Gallery at Chandler helped organize the project, and that design meetings were held in the restaurant with residents and the artist. He described the mural’s imagery as including Yaqui representations and field workers to reflect the neighborhood’s farming history. Community members were involved in both planning and painting the piece and often bring visitors to view it, he said.

The segment also outlined Espos’s community activities: regular catering for class reunions and events, Taco Tuesday celebrations with DJs and outdoor bars, and partnerships with local schools. Leon said the business seeks to stay current with menu trends while maintaining its traditional items and community focus.

The profile included recollections of the restaurant’s early prices — for example, hot dogs and hamburgers sold for a few cents and a dozen hamburgers cost about $1.50 — and personal anecdotes such as Encinas noting that his mother once worked at Espos and that family members met there decades ago.

Encinas closed the segment by encouraging viewers to visit Espos in Hightown, Pueblo Alto, noting the restaurant’s longstanding role in Chandler’s local culture.