BEFORE THERE WAS A RESTAURANT,
THERE WAS A REASON.
OUR STORY
Momento didn’t start with a floor plan or a menu.
It started with a desire to tell a bigger truth about who we are.
For too long, Mexican identity has been reduced to a handful of familiar references. But they were never the whole story.
We wanted to show what Mexicans are, not what the world expects us to be.
TWO MEXICANS. ONE POINT OF VIEW.
Momento was born with two friends from Mexico City who shared the same conviction.
We saw Mexican culture celebrated everywhere, yet too often reduced to the same narrow ideas of who Mexicans are supposed to be. We didn’t recognize ourselves in that version.
We knew Mexicans are creative and ambitious. Traditional and rebellious. Sophisticated and irreverent. Deeply rooted in where we came from, but constantly building what comes next.
Being Mexican wasn’t something we wanted to package into an aesthetic. It was a mindset we wanted to express.
So we created Momento.
Christopher Roldán + César Fajardo
Co-Founders
AN IDEA IS ONLY THE BEGINNING.
BRINGING MOMENTO TO LIFE
Turning Momento into a place meant finding people who understood what we were trying to express.
Not simply a Mexican restaurant, but a world where every detail could communicate the same point of view, from the space and materials to the food on the table.
So Momento became a collaboration.
THE SPACE
DIANA TORRES
Design & Architecture
Diana translated Momento’s identity into architecture shaping a space capable of holding the same contrasts as the brand itself: expressive yet sophisticated, contemporary yet unmistakably connected to Mexico.
From the energy of the Taquería to the atmosphere of the Cantina, every decision helped turn the brand into something you could physically experience.
At Momento, design isn’t decoration. It is part of the story.
THE SPACE · MOMENTO, CHICAGO
THE CRAFT
ROBERTO REYES
Craft & Spatial Execution
Roberto’s role in Momento went far beyond millwork.He helped translate ideas into physical reality through craftsmanship, engineering, and problem-solving.
When Momento’s bougainvillea arches required an entirely different kind of expertise, Roberto assembled the team that figured out how to build them.
Ideas became objects. Drawings became details. Momento became tangible.
THE CRAFT · FROM DRAWING TO REALITY
THE IDEA HAD TO TASTE LIKE SOMETHING.
THE TASTE
Momento’s point of view didn’t stop at the space.
The kitchen needed to carry the same tension between heritage and reinvention, respecting what came before without treating tradition as something frozen in time.
That meant finding chefs who understood both.
CRAFTING MEXICO’S
NEW TASTE.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE FOOD
ALEXIS PRESCHEZ
Executive Chef
A Mexican born in France, Alexis blends traditional Mexican flavors with global technique. Soulful, modern, and always rooted in maíz.
FERNANDA PRADO
Pastry Chef
Trained in Barcelona and shaped by Mexico, Fernanda brings precision, imagination, and a distinctly contemporary point of view to Momento’s sweet side.
THE IDEA BECAME A PLACE.
WHAT IT BECAME
What began as a point of view became something you could walk into.
A taquería and a cantina. Street and elegance. Fast and slow. Tradition and reinvention.
Built in Chicago by Mexican minds and hands, Momento became a physical expression of something we believed from the beginning.