Mexican Immigrant Family Shares Success Across Allen County

Flora Barrón had a comfortable childhood in Northern Mexico, attended college, and worked as an administrative assistant before marrying a successful rural veterinarian. But when an economic downturn pushed local farmers into bankruptcy, her husband’s business struggled.  

“That’s when we came to America,” she explains. “Our plan was to come here and work for two years, save some money, then go back and open a bigger clinic.” 

The pair arrived on tourist visas in late 1993, and temporarily moved in with an uncle in Fort Wayne. They didn’t speak much English and became briefly homeless when their housing arrangements fell through. “It was very hard — we didn’t know where to go,” Barrón recalls. 

Fortunately, a family from their local Assemblies of God congregation offered the couple a room. The pair took language classes and got career advice at the Benito Juarez Center. They began working in restaurants and factories, and rented an apartment of their own. 

They were still intending to return to Mexico when their church hired Barrón’s husband to run a Spanish-language radio program. The job helped the couple obtain their green cards. From there, doors opened. Barrón received a bachelor’s degree in education from Purdue University Fort Wayne and a master’s in education from Indiana Wesleyan. For the next 20 years, she taught math in Fort Wayne’s public schools. 

After all that time, Barrón recalled the veterinary clinic that she and her husband never got to run. “I had a lot of regret about that,” she said. “But I knew that here, if we worked hard, we could start a successful business — and that was always my real dream.”  

In 2017, the couple opened Flora & Lily’s Mexican Kitchen food truck, followed by a coffee trailer, two coffee shops and a fast-casual restaurant called Pikoso. The couple now employ 30 people. Despite the strains of the pandemic, their businesses are thriving. “After all the financial worries we had in Mexico, we found that in America it’s possible to be successful if you work hard,” Barrón says. 

She has also volunteered at International House, a center for immigrants; Hope Center, a pregnancy counseling group; and Casa Advocate, an advocacy center for kids. “Fort Wayne has been there for us, and we want to give something back,” Barrón explains. “I’m so thankful for the community that helped me to achieve my dreams.”