Russell Hernandez, Mayor of the Town of Mesilla and co-owner of Salud! Restaurant in Mesilla, will receive this year’s Las Cruces International Film Festival’s “Hometown Hero” award on Saturday, April 11 at the Rio Grande Theatre. Scott Brocato talks with Mayor Hernandez about the LCIFF honor, as well as the challenges of juggling his duties as Mayor and co-owner of Salud! Restaurant, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary in April.
Scott Brocato:
Russell, you will be honored at the Las Cruces International Film Festival for the “Hometown Hero” award. As part of the award, Las Cruces International Film Festival founder and executive director Ross Marks said, “Mayor Russell Hernandez's commitment and love of Southern New Mexico is apparent in everything he does. He makes Southern New Mexico a better place just by being himself. He leads with compassion and kindness. He is just getting started, and we expect even more great things from him.” So first question is...can we expect more great things from you?
Russell Hernandez:
(Laughs) I think I can only fit so much on my plate, Scott. But you know, the future, who knows what the future holds?
Scott Brocato:
Well, seriously, what does the honor mean to you?
Russell Hernandez:
It's...I've had so many people reach out to me and telling me congratulations and how honored they are that I got this, and I'm honored myself because it's such a high recognition to be receiving from the Film Fest, and I'm very honored with that. Some of my mentors have reached out and said that it's an amazing thing, and the congratulations that I've received from them, and having that from a mentor, more than anything is really amazing.
Scott Brocato:
And who are some of your mentors?
Russell Hernandez:
So Peggy Smith is one. She's one that I've known, and she was my first boss and I grew up with. Heather Pollard is another great leader within the community that made it a point to reach out. Many members of our own Mesilla community have reached out, residents and friends alike. So it's amazing.
Scott Brocato:
Well, let's move sort of forwards and backwards. You are currently the mayor of the town of Mesilla since 2023, and you are still the owner and operator of Salud de Mesilla, celebrating its 10th anniversary. Congratulations on that. Let's start with Salud. That was the brainchild of you and your spouse, Christopher Shaljo-Hernandez, right?
Russell Hernandez:
Yes, sir.
Scott Brocato:
And what was the inspiration for Salud and how did it start?
Russell Hernandez:
You know, the Salud started on a whim. I shouldn't say a whim; it was a great little start where Chris and I were deciding on what the next adventure would be. And then we're sitting there having a glass of wine together. We decided we wanted to open a restaurant did a cheers thing and said "Salud,” and that's kind of the dawning of the birth of that, if you will, in getting that going.
Salud means so much more than just “cheers.” We look at the literal meaning of “to your health,” having some of the healthy options that are available on the menu, and more so meeting the dietary restrictions that, you know, not everybody can enjoy around a table. And we wanted to make sure that we were bringing families and friends together around the table. Kind of just how the old “Cheers” TV show was. You know, we have our Norm that comes into the restaurant and all of our characters, we all play our part, and it makes it a special place for sure.
Scott Brocato:
What were some of the challenges when you were in the process of opening? Was the building already there?
Russell Hernandez:
The building was there most definitely, and we’re actually the fifth restaurant to be in that location. Knock on wood, we're the last that'll stay there for a lifelong type of deal. So the shell was there, but we did have an empty shell that we filled and made our own, and created our own space in there, making it unique to what it is for sure.
Scott Brocato:
Are there any special events planned for its 10th (anniversary)?
Russell Hernandez:
We are. So the last weekend of April, we are planning on having probably that entire weekend. We're working out all of the details right now. and we'll hopefully have that posted soon. But having just a great celebration, bringing back some of the old menu favorites and some of those that have kind of gone by the wayside and bring them back and have a great celebration all the way around. You have to think, over ten years, we averaged changing our menu usually about one to two times a year. Some things left, some things stayed on.
Scott Brocato:
The green chile mac and cheese is still there?
Russell Hernandez:
Most definitely!
Scott Brocato:
Don't get rid of that. (Laughs)
Russell Hernandez:
Rainbow bread has been one of the biggest requests to come back, so it'll have to make a comeback for at least the anniversary.
Scott Brocato:
Well, let's move forward to you deciding to run for mayor of the town of Mesilla. So you have this restaurant, everything's going well, and you decide to get into politics. Why?
Russell Hernandez:
You know, I have a love for our community all the way around. And it’s always...it's not my first run. I did run for Trustee or city council for the town of Mesilla before. I lost it by a few votes on that. And I've always been involved from planning and zoning to other committees and boards all across the entire state. And so that involvement really kind of spurred me to get involved in a different level and a different capacity. And that's why I decided that I wanted to make the run for mayor to support the community in a different way.
Scott Brocato:
How do you support a work-life balance, because Chris (Shaljo-Hernandez) is also, of course, the chair of the Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners. So you're both very busy in your respective fields and you're the mayor and you both run Salud. Were there challenges there or concerns when you became mayor?
Russell Hernandez:
There always can be, most definitely. But what I've found is that I have an amazing team that works at Salud. I have an amazing team that works at the town (of Mesilla). I know Chris has a great team that works at the county. But most importantly, I have an amazing team at home. And that support helps in making it work out for that work-life balance, if you will, and managing the town, the business, and my family, which is a great thing.
Scott Brocato:
What accomplishments are you most proud of as Mayor?
Russell Hernandez:
You know, so far we've done some great things. I think the most recent accomplishment that I'm extremely proud of is we were, within the past month, we actually had a property that was being looked at by the town that a lot of the residents wanted to look in as an acquisition for that. And we were actually able to make that happen. It was a donation to the town, which was amazing, but we were able to get that solidified and get that deed signed over. So it's now a part of the town.
We have so many projects going on, from beautification projects to road projects, water projects--there's just an abundant source of funding. And I think it's untapped means that the town hasn't necessarily gone after in the past. And that's what I'm extremely proud of, is the money that we have coming in that's supporting the community in a developmental way, making things happen.
Scott Brocato:
Any major issues with the town that you'd like to see addressed?
Russell Hernandez:
You know, there's always major issues within any community. I think as of right now, we have a small town, and so therefore we have a small budget. And when we have a small budget, we have limited staffing. And that's always a challenge, and that's one of the things that we're working on is trying to build a little extra capacity. and making sure that each position that we have within the town is fully optimized to get the most work productivity out of everybody.
Scott Brocato:
Russell Hernandez, Mayor of the Town of Mesilla, co-owner of Salud de Mesilla, and the recipient of the Las Cruces International Film Festival Hometown Hero Award--thank you for coming in to talk about this with KRWG Public Media.
Russell Hernandez:
Thank you, Scott. Appreciate you.
