Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things include her daughter Valeria, eating at Crafted and Antojitos Mexicanos, kickboxing and her passports.
Two of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things include eating at Antojitos Mexicanos and Crafted.
One of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things includes kickboxing.
One of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things includes her passports.
Valeria Mendez, 10, is on of her mother’s five favorite things.
Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things include her daughter Valeria, eating at Crafted and Antojitos Mexicanos, kickboxing and her passports.
Two of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things include eating at Antojitos Mexicanos and Crafted.
One of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things includes kickboxing.
One of Carmen Mendez’s five favorite things includes her passports.
Valeria Mendez, 10, is on of her mother’s five favorite things.
YAKIMA, Wash. — Yakima native Carmen Mendez turned 31 on Friday. She spent a portion of her childhood in Colima, Mexico, before returning to the Yakima Valley when she was about 14 years old. After graduating from A.C. Davis High School, she attended the University of Washington for two years before transferring to Heritage University, where she majored in business administration.
In addition to serving as councilwoman for Yakima’s District 3, she also works as the Central Washington area’s regional director for the nonprofit advocacy group Health Care for All and as the greater Yakima and Tri-Cities field manager for FieldClock app, which helps with local farming management. These are a few of her favorite things:
1. Oysters at Crafted
“One of my top favorite things is the happy hour oysters at Crafted,” Mendez said.
Crafted is something of a Yakima treasure, a restaurant boasting a seasonal farm-to-table menu and one of the hippest destinations in town.
Located at 22 N. First St., Crafted’s oyster happy hour is from 9 to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday.
“They’re these fresh, little oysters and they are the most delicious oysters around,” Mendez said.
2. Kickboxing
For stress relief, Mendez’s go-to activity is kickboxing.
“I love to go to kickboxing at the Yakima School of Karate,” she said. “I go twice a week — it’s my therapy. It’s one of my favorite things to do year-round.”
Mendez has been doing it for the past year.
“When I need to take some steam off, that’s where I go,” she said.
Yakima School of Karate is at 13 N. Seventh Ave. If you’re interested in seeing what the school has to offer, give them a call at 509-457-5462.
3. Traveling
“Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling with my daughter and my boyfriend, so that’s one of the things I really enjoy doing,” Mendez said.
Among her recent trips, Carmen was in Punta de Mita, Mexico, in February.
Her passports get her everywhere she wants to be, including a recent late spring visit to the spot in Mexico, where she spent a portion of her childhood.
Accompanying Mendez and her daughter on the recent trip were her boyfriend, Garrett Matzke, and his daughter, Emma.
“We took our daughters to Colima — we just got back about a week and a half ago,” Mendez said with excitement during her Monday afternoon interview.
4. Antojitos Mexicanos Restaurant
“I love eating,” Mendez said. “I really, really do, but I’m really picky as to where I eat, and I tend to complain a lot.”
She admits she’s often easily let down and her boyfriend talks to her about complaining that meals aren’t good enough. However, she said there’s one spot in town where she’s always happy to eat.
“If I want to have Mexican … if I want to go have tacos that taste like my mom’s, I go to Antojitos,” Mendez said. “I eat there possibly at least once a week.”
The popular Yakima restaurant is located at 3512 Summitview Ave.
5. Time with her daughter, Valeria
“My top on the list is spending time with my daughter,” Mendez said.
As a single mother, Mendez said she strives to give Valeria, 10, all the love and attention she can.
Mendez said she’s always looking for fun things for them to do together, whether it’s going on hikes or walking their dog at Franklin Park or any other outings in the area.
“Any time I can find to spend with her is an opportunity for her and I to have a conversation, so any time I can spend with her is terrific,” she said.
This story has been updated with the correct address for Yakima School of Karate.
moliver@yakimaherald.com
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