About Us

Rick and Deann Bayless opened the now-iconic Frontera Grill in 1987, committing themselves to presenting authentic stories of Mexico to the Chicagoland community. Nearly 40 years later, the Bayless family has grown (literally!) as have the family of restaurants with Topolobampo, Xoco, Bar Sótano, and Tortazo.

Chef Rick has not just been uplifting Mexican voices, stories, and cuisine in his restaurants for the last four decades, but he has penned nine cookbooks, with more on the way, hosted the award-winning travel show Mexico: One Plate at a Time for 12 seasons, and continues to teach and encourage home cooks to explore the Mexican kitchen on YouTube and Instagram.

Most days, however, you’ll still find Rick and Deann on Clark Street in Chicago, working in their restaurants alongside a dedicated and diverse staff, still committed to elevating their community and serving up the joy of an authentic experience of Mexico.

But what does that have to do with our online store? All of our products are tried and tested personally by Chef Bayless and his team. We use Burlap & Barrel spices in our kitchen every day; look closely at Chef’s YouTube videos and you’ll see his trusty Steelport Knife. Every product we sell is an extension of our values: authentic, sustainable, and local (to name a few). 

We hope that you enjoy poking around our site and learning more about our staff, our food, and our values -- welcome to the Frontera Family of Restaurants. Buen Provecho!