Guatemalan Chef Opens Mazor in Fulton River District, Featuring Fresh Masa and Monthly Fine Dining

Chef Cristian Orozco will open Mazor, a new counter-service restaurant in the Fulton River District, in early February, according to the chef. The venture marks the latest step in Orozco’s culinary journey that began when he arrived in the U.S. from Guatemala at 17 years old and started as a dishwasher at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Over the past 12 years, Orozco has worked his way through kitchens at celebrated Chicago restaurants including Acadia, Tzuco, and North Pond, according to his background. Most recently, he owned Five O Four Kitchen in Glen Ellyn, which earned recognition in Chicago Magazine’s best suburb restaurant feature before closing last September.

“I trusted people I shouldn’t have,” Orozco said of his previous restaurant’s closure.

Mazor will focus on tostadas, tacos, and empanadas built around fresh masa sourced from three varieties at El Popocatepetl Tortilleria in Pilsen, according to Orozco. The third-generation family-owned business provides blue corn masa made from corn sourced from Puebla, Mexico, and all tortillas will be hand-pressed to order.

The menu reflects Orozco’s bicultural upbringing in Guatemala, just 10 minutes from the Mexican border. “We used to eat in Mexico during the day, and then we would come back home and eat Guatemalan food,” Orozco said. He often accompanied his mother on shopping trips to Mexico to stock the grocery stores she owned in Guatemala.

Menu offerings include homemade guacamole and guacasalsa, a salsa-guacamole blend, both served with fresh heirloom corn chips. Tostadas feature options like bluefin tuna topped with salsa macha and avocado, or a vegetarian version with shiitakes, roasted zucchini, black beans, and queso fresco.

Tacos range from al pastor and chicken tinga to rib-eye with grilled onions and crispy potato strings. The blue corn masa also forms empanadas and sopesitos topped with homemade chorizo, refried beans, crema, and pickled onions.

Additional dishes include tetelas filled with roasted mushrooms and Oaxacan cheese, crisped on a comal and served with avocado mousse. Heartier options feature a torta Milanesa de res with pounded, breaded steak, chipotle aioli, Chihuahua cheese, and beans, plus a selection of burritos and Guatemalan-style shrimp cocktail.

Beverages will include horchata, aguas frescas, and café de olla made with Guatemalan coffee sourced from Sparrow Coffee. The restaurant will operate as BYOB initially.

The 700-square-foot space seats 30 customers in a modern, simple design with rich blue accents against predominantly white walls. Mazor will also host monthly ticketed tasting menu dinners, transforming the ordering counter into a chef’s counter seating six diners for six- to eight-course meals featuring premium ingredients like caviar and huitlacoche.

“We’re going to introduce more Guatemalan flavors along the way,” Orozco said of both the tasting and daily menus.

For this venture, Orozco partnered with real estate developer Anthony White, who owns the multi-story building housing Mazor. Lacking funds to invest in the space himself, Orozco emailed White on impulse to propose a partnership.

“I had nothing to lose,” Orozco said. “He actually said yes, and I came up with a concept.”

This direct approach previously helped Orozco secure positions at high-profile restaurants. He messaged chef Ryan McCaskey of the now-closed, two-Michelin-starred Acadia for an opportunity to work there, despite limited experience at the time.

Mazor represents Orozco’s effort to bring authentic Guatemalan and Mexican flavors to Chicago’s dining scene while showcasing the versatility of fresh masa in both casual and fine dining formats.