March 2025

Matters of Taste: Matador Brewing takes coffee by the horns: Since moving business to Flagstaff, business roasts way to growth

FLAG Live! March 20, 2025

Written by Gail G. Collins

As founding owner of Matador Coffee Roasting Co., Mario Martusciello has extensive experience in making a perfect cup of coffee. Just read his blog for proof. The first generation American of Italian descent from Naples—known for its espresso and specialty coffees—perhaps possesses an internal barometer for the bean.

After 15 coffee years in Seattle, he returned to Phoenix in 2005 to build Matador with his father Jack, then a vibrant 75-year-old. The commercial roasting and retail business, with Mario solely at the helm, headed north in 2015.

In his retail stores, the coffee is only one to two weeks out, so customers can enjoy the same freshness.

He credits Matador’s success with learning the service and back-end part of the business first—repair and supply of equipment—to align with an industry expectation that those, “connected to the equipment are expected to provide on the equipment. Others in the industry are insular, but we were always focused outward.”

The Flagstaff business launched by gathering wholesale accounts, even creating a hybrid position to manage coffee sales and service equipment.

“We’ve worked with start-up people to create and move up—it’s a core piece of who we are,” Martusciello said.

Tanner Thorp is an example of growing with the business. His well-connected background in coffee primed him to grow sales relationships in Flagstaff.

As Matador expanded its wholesale roasting accounts, its retail side grew as well, and Thorp and wife Carly Saunders bought the eastside location in 2023.

“It operates as a franchisee, using all the same recipes under the umbrella of Matador Coffee, like the downtown location and newer, fully branded NAU campus spots,” Thorp explained.

Besides the standard Americano, latte, cappuccino, mocha, macchiato, espresso and pour-over, Matador offers specialty drinks, like the Bees Knees. The honey lavender latte is a springtime sipper. The Black and White mocha offers both white and dark chocolate, while the Dirty Chai brims with warm spices. There is tea, lemonade and refreshers, plus smoothies in mixed berry, banana blast and peanut butter.

People are often surprised at the food options beyond pastries and muffins.

“We keep it simple with great quality,” Thorp said.

Crossover ingredients expand the opportunities from a bagel and cream cheese to bagel sandwiches, like the Pesto Turkey, stacked with provolone, lettuce, tomato and red onion. The Spicy Turkey boasts in-house pineapple pepper jelly for the hot hammie sammie Cuban style. A host of avocado toast choices include The Matadora with olive oil and lemon juice and bullfighter’s breakfast layering scrambled egg, bacon, provolone and red pepper flakes.

“We try to cultivate a fun place to be—come in and spend time,” Thorp said. Where window times with customers in chain shops are often limited to under a minute, he added, “We want to know about the kids’ soccer games, their pets and lives. And we invite people to take a bag of coffee home as a gift—something to use and enjoy.”

Some popular offerings are Grand Canyon blend, Northwest Espresso, Whisky Barrel Aged and Tanzanian Peaberry.

The matador symbol reflects a love of Latin culture alongside the overall vibe and original vision of the wholesale company. Head roaster Kent Simmons at Matador Coffee creates about 20 varietals and blends from about 11 single origins. Roasting 20,000 pounds of coffee a month, the numbers are pushing up with new contracts. “It’s been a great 10 years here, and we’ll continue to develop,” said an unstoppable Martusciello. FlagLIVE!

https://azdailysun.com/flaglive/features/chow/matador-coffee-takes-brewing-by-the-horns-since-making-move-to-flagstaff-business-roasts-way/article_9447e40c-f957-11ef-a589-4feab5b99942.html/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shareArticleButton&utm_campaign=shareArticleButton

Matters of Taste: Baja Mar Seafood

AZ Daily Sun, Mountain Living Section, September 12, 2024

Written by Gail G. Collins

Mexican Pacific Coast seafood cuisine is called mariscos. Its reputation is especially renowned in Sinaloa, where the northwest region’s gastronomy blends flavor from pre-Hispanic and colonial eras. Over time, new marine and exotic elements elevated the dishes, which reflect a mixture of sea and shore in local vegetables. The coastline is abundant with ocean life from snapper and grouper to tuna and mahi mahi to shellfish and is both flavorful and healthy.

Ingredients, such as lime, avocado, cilantro, red onion and habanero, Serrano and bell peppers enhance the area’s recipes. Shrimp is prized and the base for many dishes, combined with fish to create stews and soups. A popular Sinaloan dish gaining traction abroad is aguachile, made with raw shrimp, cooked in lemon with chiltepin peppers, cucumber and red onion. Marinating the shrimp in citrus changes the flesh and impregnates them with essence and spice. This is the formula for ceviche. Sinaloa’s seafood carts and restaurants offer an enormously surprising array of variety and taste.

Armando and Blanca Garcia owned a steak and seafood restaurant in Sinaloa, so when they came to Flagstaff, their plan was already in place. After working as a server and manager for El Tapatio for five years, they established Baja Mar Seafood truck in late 2022, reminiscent of the typical mariscos stalls they knew.

“The big goal was to open a kitchen and food truck with authentic and different food that nobody else sells,” said Armando Garcia. “We make our own batter recipe for fish tacos and shrimp and serve it with our house salsas. The secret is in the dried chilies.”

The couple introduced their Sinaloan aguachile dish to locals blending the spicy, juicy shrimp with lime and their salsas, to create a popular seller. They run a scratch kitchen and cook shrimp each day. Sourcing the freshest seafood is a secret to their success. A restaurant in Phoenix flies in enormous quantities for frozen storage and commercial resale, so the catch on the coastline is at its best for fish tacos and quesadillas, ceviches and more.

A standard ceviche combines raw fish types with lime juice, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado slices and red onion. Baja Mar serves four types: shrimp, fish with carrots, tuna with mango habanero, eel sauce and sesame seeds and Baja Mar, mixing shrimp and octopus, another good seller.

Trendy tacos come in a choice of meats from carne asada and barbacoa to fish varieties, served with rice and beans. Specialties include shrimp albondigas in broth with carrots and potato.

“The funny thing is, I am not a chef,” Garcia said. “I cooked for my family, not as professional—no one taught me, no classes. I cook the way I like to eat.” As Garcia put it, the common reaction is, “Everybody loves it.”

The general manager for the Americana Motor Hotel certainly fell for Baja Mar, and when the property was updated, he organized the mariscos as the food option on site, which opened in February. This allowed the menu to expand to include a larger variety of tacos and quesadillas, like the mar y tierra—an enormous flour tortilla stuffed with carne asada and fried shrimp, crisped with cheese outside and topped with house chipotle mayo. Other items include burritos and sides, like nacho fries loaded with carne asada.

The food truck is located at Fort Valley Road in the Chevron gas station Tuesday through Friday when not in use for weddings, school events or Oktoberfest. Baja Mar also serves from a weekend stall at the Farmers Market.

According to Garcia, the next step for the ambitious couple serving delicious seafood is, “to find a place, our own beer spot, with a few tables and a nice bar and serve beautiful cocktails and ceviche—it’s perfect.”

Garcia said, “I invite all travelers, but especially locals, to enjoy the best and most unique Pacific Coast seafood in town at Baja Mar.” AZDailySun

https://azdailysun.com/flaglive/features/chow/matters-of-taste-baja-mar-seafood/article_c82c2b02-6f91-11ef-9286-dbc521b38fff.html

Bridal Issue: Find the perfect fit with Frederick Fisher Jewelers, Flagstaff’s trust ring shop

Written by Gail G. Collins

Weddings are a pledge of love and loyalty. But how did the token, the circular band, become the symbol of such unbounded dedication?

While the ring’s foundation in history may be hazy, archeological data points to Egypt and a woven loop of reed or leather. Stouter materials evolved, and the traditional exchange of rings began in ancient Rome.

There, the custom of wearing the ring on the fourth finger of the left hand is rooted in the belief that the vena amoris or vein of love ran from that finger to the heart. This created the custom still practiced today.

A ring’s style has been influenced by the times, tracing a path from an elaborate personal expression during the Renaissance to the geometric Art Deco lines of the 20^th Century. Yet, it was the Victorian period that introduced a diamond as the stone of choice. When Prince Albert presented a diamond to Queen Victoria, its popularity took off, sparking patterns that remain timeless. Then, De Beers launched the 1947 marketing campaign, “A diamond is forever,” making it emblematic.

A diamond is a major investment for anyone, and it can be daunting. At such times, we often turn to a friend for advice. That friend is Frederick Fisher Jewelers, guiding couples through their first big decision together. Celebrating 45 years in the Flagstaff community, the legacy business’ motto is: Let our family be your family’s jeweler.

“Reputation is big,” said owner Ryan Terhaar, who took over the family shop from parents Tim and Lisa Terhaar. “With bridal, it’s important to deal with people you trust. Usually, this is their first big purchase, and they need knowledge to make a smart financial decision. Trust is big. The ring is for forever—the perfect ring—and we have the #1 selection in northern Arizona.”

Frederick Fisher doesn’t compete with chain jewelry stores, but focuses on quality and individual attention. And while for many, this is the first venture into asset investment, Fisher won’t push someone’s price range, instead finding the best ring for the money.

The diamond must be set, and while yellow gold has been the longstanding luxury look, white gold and platinum have been in their heydays. Fisher has thousands of pieces in white metals from which to choose.

“When talking about gold for the bridal ring,” Terhaar said, “any diamond of size is the biggest chunk of the outlay with hardness and sparkliness as the driving forces to equal forever on earth.”

So, what makes a brilliant diamond? According to the Gemological Institute of America, the four Cs are clarity, color, carat weight and cut. The clarity involves anomalies akin to a fingerprint, such as inclusions, pinpoints and carbon contained within the stone. This is graded from flawless to very, very slightly included (VVSI) and VSI to SI and included. The color ranges from a rare, colorless D grade to yellow tones. The carat weight determines size, and the cut involves placing facets.

“The cut is the most important reason a diamond sparkles. Its 58 facets are placed by a math equation—percentages and angles. We only carry perfectly cut diamonds to reflect the light—it bangs around in the stones and sends it back as sparkle.”

Lab grown diamonds are the newest approach to brilliance and twinkle as innovative science. General Electric produced the first batch of diamonds, and by the 80s, high-quality stones became available. There are serious benefits to lab-grown stones. Natural diamonds take eons to form while lab-grown stones can be delivered faster than one would believe possible.

“One diamond takes millions of years to form in nature, and one can be created by man by March,” quipped Terhaar. The development phase is two to four weeks. “Both are 100-percent diamonds, period, end of subject. The stones are tested, graded and weighted the same, but are inscribed with a certification number as the only way to tell it is lab-grown versus natural.”

There is also a huge affordability factor. In short, lab diamonds are ethical, eco-conscious and everlasting.

While trends come and go, most customers shy away from unusual styles. “Bridal jewelry is everlasting,” Terhaar explained, “and 70- to 90-percent of rings look similar.” Still, if it is a custom design the bride desires, Fisher retains a certified team of jewelry experts to repair or alter a family heirloom or craft a new one. “If you can draw it, reveal it, we can make it a reality.”

As far as diamond cuts, the round is enduringly popular followed by princess, fancy shapes, oval, emerald and marquee. Rose gold is currently trending as is the diamond halo setting, a circle of stones surrounding the main diamond.

Above all else, Terhaar summed, “The bridal business is timeless. We are family-owned, knowledgeable and have served Arizona since 1980, giving back to the community through all realms.” Bridal2025

https://azdailysun.com/find-the-perfect-fit-with-frederick-fisher-jewelers-flagstaffs-trusted-ring-shop-for-45-years/article_f0dc705e-efd7-11ef-86a8-ef6f7762ac33.html/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=shareArticleButton&utm_campaign=shareArticleButton