SALT LAKE CITY — The founder of one of Salt Lake City’s most iconic restaurants, Red Iguana, has died, 40 years after first opening the Mexican eatery and 60 years after the launch of his career as a restaurateur.
Ramon Cardenas Sr. — known to patrons and family as Don Ramon — died Friday at the age of 92. He had stepped back from day-to-day operations of Red Iguana 20 years ago, when daughter Lucy Cardenas took over, but still offered support to those running the business and often visited as a patron.
“The family and our Red Iguana team are grieving deeply, but we are also leaning on each other and celebrating Ramon’s extraordinary life,” Lucy Cardenas, who now runs the business with her husband Bill Coker, said in a statement. “We’ve received an outpouring of love from the community, which has been very comforting.”
Red Iguana operates out of three locations, including the oldest one at 736 W. North Temple, and has become a mainstay and one of Salt Lake City’s most recognizable Mexican restaurant brands. It offers a cross-section of Mexican food, with its varied mole sauces — made with a range of ingredients, including chile poblano and Mexican chocolate — among its signature items.
Cardenas, originally from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí but naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2012, started his restaurant career with his late wife Maria in 1965, when the couple took over Casa Grande, a small Salt Lake City restaurant. In 1985, they launched Red Iguana, soon moving to the North Temple location after the original site on 300 West burned down. The brand has expanded to a site on South Temple and a third location in City Creek Center.
“Their dream was simple but powerful — to bring people together around a table filled with joy, flavor and love. Their food and recipes were their true art and talent. Don Ramon and Maria’s warmth, generosity and dedication to quality quickly made Red Iguana a beloved gathering place,” Lucy Cardenas said. While perhaps the couple didn’t envision how popular Red Iguana would become, they “always believed that if they poured their hearts into the food and hospitality, people would respond. That belief — and their relentless hard work — remain at the core of the restaurant’s legacy.”
Maria Cardenas died in 2002, and the Cardenas couple’s son, Ramon Cardenas Jr., was “the face and name” of Red Iguana until his death in 2004, according to the restaurant’s website. Lucy Cardenas and her husband took over the reins of Red Iguana in 2005, when Don Ramon stepped back.
“Even after retirement, Don Ramon remained a strong presence — offering wisdom, encouragement and support to his family and the team. He visited often as a guest and stayed closely connected to employees long after stepping back from operations,” Lucy Cardenas said.
The man’s daughter lauded his “warmth, humility and larger-than-life contagious smile.”
“He was hard-working, proud of his Mexican heritage and a shining star to his family, leaving an everlasting impact on every life he touched,” she said.
He’s survived by his second wife, Liliana Cardenas, and many more family members.