Deported San Diego Paletero Opens Seafood Restaurant in Tijuana

TIJUANA, Mexico, May 22, 2026 — Francisco Duarte, the San Diego street vendor whose farewell video went viral after he and his wife were deported to Mexico in late 2025, has opened a seafood restaurant in Tijuana called Mariscos Cuatro Hermanos, Spanish for Four Siblings Seafood, named in tribute to the four U.S.-citizen children the couple left behind across the border.

The restaurant represents a full turn in a life that, just seven months ago, was defined by uncertainty, legal battles and an emotional goodbye to a South San Diego community Duarte had served from a pushcart for three decades. For many who followed his story, the opening signals something worth watching: a man who built a life selling ice pops on American streets now running his own kitchen in Mexico, with his family at his side.

Mariscos Cuatro Hermanos Named for Four Children Left in San Diego

Duarte chose the name deliberately. Speaking in an interview earlier this month, he said that when he walks into the restaurant, he wants to see the name and feel the bond he shares with his children. Each day the doors open, the name above them connects the business directly to the four people the couple sacrificed everything for.

His wife, Rosenda Pérez, who also sold paletas, the frozen treats known as ice pops, for a living when the couple first met in San Diego, said she never imagined the family would one day own a restaurant. She described the opening as a genuine achievement earned through years of hard work. The couple now run the restaurant together, welcoming customers on-site daily.

Signature Dish Is Cahuamanta, a Traditional Sonoran Seafood Stew

The restaurant's kitchen draws on the couple's roots. Both Duarte and the chef he works with come from Sonora, the Mexican state known along the border for its seafood traditions. The signature dish at Mariscos Cuatro Hermanos is cahuamanta, a hearty, traditional Sonoran stew built around manta ray or sting ray, shrimp and vegetables. It is served as a full stew or, for those who prefer it, as tacos.

The choice of cahuamanta as the centrepiece reflects where Duarte comes from. It is a dish that carries regional identity and generational memory, not something assembled for a tourist menu, but the kind of food people from Sonora grew up eating.

A Paletero's Past Sits on the Counter

The connection to Duarte's former life in San Diego has not been erased, it has been built into the restaurant itself. A black-and-white photograph of him standing beside the pushcart he used for many years sits on the counter, visible to anyone who walks in. One of the freezers he used to store popsicles for sale on South San Diego streets now holds seafood in Tijuana.

Those details were not accidents. Duarte brought them intentionally, carrying pieces of the life he built in the U.S. into the space where he is building a new one. Many of the regular clients he served as a paletero have stayed in contact and continue to reach out to ask how they can help.

Eight Years of Legal Battles Preceded the Deportation

Duarte and Pérez spent eight years fighting removal from the United States. In May 2017, Border Patrol agents arrested the couple outside their National City home on suspicion of human smuggling. Duarte said they were never charged with the crime, and both were eventually released. A Department of Homeland Security official stated in October 2025 that Duarte had a prior conviction for illegal entry.

After years of legal proceedings, the couple decided not to appeal their removal order. Duarte said at the time that the drawn-out cases had taken a toll on their health and finances. The decision to return to Mexico came, in part, because their children were now in college or working and able to care for themselves.

Farewell Video Collected 2.8 Million Views on Instagram

Before leaving, Duarte's daughter Aracely Duarte posted a farewell video of her father to Instagram that collected 2.8 million views. The video showed him standing in front of his pushcart, delivering a goodbye to the San Diego community he had served. It prompted an outpouring of support and donations that the family credits with making the restaurant opening possible.

Earlier this month, Aracely posted a follow-up video on Instagram titled "What Happened to the San Diego Deported Paletero?" showing her family at Mariscos Cuatro Hermanos. In the video, she expressed the family's gratitude to every person who donated or shared support, writing that without them, none of it would have been possible and that they changed her family's life permanently.

Children Visit Weekly as Parents Build Life Across the Border

Aracely and her brothers cross to visit their parents at least once a week. Her sister, who is based at Stanford University, visits when she is in town. Duarte and Pérez rent a two-story home in Tijuana owned by a friend from their San Diego church community.

During one recent walk through Teniente Guerrero Park, two blocks from the restaurant, Duarte came across another paletero. The encounter brought back memories of his own years on the street, so he bought a handful of paletas and gave them away to children playing in the park, a quiet echo of the way he said goodbye to San Diego the day before he crossed the border.

Aracely said that although her father would prefer to be physically closer to his family, he is no longer carrying the anxiety that followed him through 30 years of undocumented life in the U.S. "Now that he's here, although he'd like to be with his family, he's free," she said.

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