GRAND ISLAND, N.Y. — You may have heard the saying "food is love," but that love can span generations.

In the Ortiz-Juárez household, the smell of breakfast welcomes you in.

“So I'm gonna make some Mexican eggs,” said Sandra Ortiz-Juárez, the co-owner of Taquito Lindo.

For Sandra, it’s familiar.

“Tlaxcala ... it's a very small town with colorful houses and bright colors like orange, pink," she said. "The streets are very narrow, and the people are very friendly.”

When she moved to the U.S. in 2010, she couldn’t bring the colors and vibes, and so she brought the taste of home.

“We are famous for tacos de canasta, which is ... it's a basket that has a lot of small tacos piled,” Ortiz-Juárez explained.

This dish she was making this morning was a bit more homey.

“When I was little, like almost every weekend, we used to eat huevos a la Mexicana, Mexican eggs,” she recalled.

Dishes like this bring that Mexican flavor to the forefront for a new generation.

“It's like a mission to teach my kids about my town, my culture, and what I used to eat when I was a kid because this is something that makes us together,” Ortiz-Juárez said.

She’s also bringing it to a whole new community.

“I didn't imagine in my life that I would be an owner of a restaurant, but I was missing my food so much," she explained. "So I think one thing led to the other.”

A few years ago, she and her husband took the recipes of their family, plus some of their own and their friends to create Taquito Lindo.

“Every time I want to remember or feel close to home, I look at these recipes,” Ortiz-Juárez said, showing off a book from her grandmother. “I actually wanted Taquito Lindo to have as a slogan that it's 'from Mexico with love,' because it's everything that we are bringing.”

She's using traditional ingredients and techniques to call back to Mexico.

“You make this salsa with another type of molcajete [...] and it doesn't taste the same,” Ortiz-Juárez said, grinding up ingredients.

The items on the menu harken back to everything and everyone back home.

“Oaxacan roots is one of my favorite cocktails, because I name I name it after my dad. He's from Oaxaca,” she said.

If the reviews from Ortiz-Juárez's at-home crowd are any indication, she’ll be sharing those tastes, stories and traditions for years to come.

“If I had thousands of thumbs up, 1,000 thumbs up,” said one of her two sons.

“I think that food makes everybody get together," said Ortiz-Juárez. "I think this is a great way to be closer to other cultures and to just just to feel together through the flavors and colors of our food.”

Ortiz-Juárez has also found a Mexican community in New York, so whether she’s looking for Mexican supplies or foods like tamales and conchas, she knows someone.