He serves more than just tacos

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- It’s hard imagine how Ivan Calderon has the time to oversee

Taco Mesa, his West Side restaurant, monument and meeting place.

He’s often busy serving free tacos and burritos at neighborhood cleanups,

raising money for a West Side after-school program and coaching Newport

Beach-Costa Mesa Xtreme, a club soccer team for 15-year-old boys.

“It makes good business sense,” said Calderon, 45. “By helping out local

charities, the word got around about Taco Mesa and we became a part of

the community.”

Mayor Gary Monahan will honor Calderon with the 12th Mayors Award for his

community service at Monday’s City Council meeting.

“He’s involved in anything he can get his hands on,” Monahan said Friday.

“He’s always there to help out.”

Calderon helped form the Latino Leadership Council -- since renamed the

Latino Business Council -- five years ago.

When he first opened the restaurant here -- which serves such delicacies

as red snapper wrapped in banana leaves and squid tacos -- he said many

other Latino business owners were reluctant to become active in city

affairs.

“They were afraid of the unknown,” he said. “They didn’t know how to

apply for permits and didn’t know how important it is to join the Chamber

of Commerce.”

So Calderon and the Latino Business Council helped encourage them to join

the chamber, help the city plan for a West Side neighborhood

revitalization and donate time and money to local charities.

Calderon said he prefers to help charities that keep neighborhood

children occupied and out of trouble. He donates money to several

programs at Save Our Youth after-school program, which provides

recreation programs such as boxing and break dancing, to West Side

children.

“I would’ve been a soccer player or graduated from college if I had a

role model,” said Calderon, who grew up in Mexico City. “So now I want to

help kids here establish their own values.””He helps all sorts of people

and never got recognized,” said Bill Turpitt, president of the Latino

Business Council. “But even on a smaller level, he treats his employees

very well. They stay there for years. I’ve always admired him for that.”