Article By: Zak Lodhi
If you’re looking for your new favourite place to eat, then you’re in luck. Because you just found it. A place where warmth, laughter, and the aroma of fresh tortillas mingle in the air. For more than a decade, Peppers Cantina has been one of St. George’s most beloved culinary landmarks. Growing from a modest, family-owned dream into a destination where tradition and hospitality thrive.
In 2011, Peppers was little more than a humble hole-in-the-wall diner. It needed a lot of work, and a lot of love. And that’s exactly what Richard and Jessica Rivera lauded over the restaurant in spades when they took over the locale. With vision and determination, they transformed it into a gathering place that embodies the spirit of Mexican cuisine at its very finest.
Over the years, they’ve done everything from expanding the building, modernizing the kitchen, and introducing a stylish lounge for adults to relax with friends over cocktails. Today, Peppers has grown out of its cramped beginnings, accommodating more than 200 guests. Yet it has never lost its intimacy, nor the sense that every visitor is being welcomed into the Rivera family’s table.
At Peppers, quality is an assurance, a promise that infuses every dish. It’s really like coming over to eat with some close friends. The salsa is prepared fresh each morning, tortillas are hand-rolled, tamales steamed with care, and even the chips are made from scratch. Guests return again and again for the famed Beso Chimichanga, a creation so distinctive it’s been trademarked. Golden, crisp, and smothered in rich red or green sauce, my mouth is watering just writing about it. Pair it with one of their signature “All Cadillac, All Skinny, All the Time” margaritas, crafted from scratch like all their margaritas. It’s the same recipe first used when the margarita was invented in 1944, a tradition Peppers Cantina proudly keeps alive. The result? An experience that turns every meal into the perfect one.
Still, it’s not just the food that defines Peppers. It’s the atmosphere. Oversized booths offer privacy for families, laughter spills from the bar, and locals swap stories alongside travelers passing through on Interstate 15. Peppers breaths with its community. Every meal feels less like dining out and more like stepping into the rhythm of St. George itself, familiar, welcoming, and undeniably alive. Richard Rivera, whose decades in the hospitality industry prepared him for this venture, often says, “When you come here, you’re eating at our place.” It is that sense of community, that’s secured Peppers a place in the heart of St. George.
What began as a small leap of faith has become something far greater: a culinary landmark, a neighborhood gathering place, and a testament to the Riveras’ belief that food, when made with care, becomes more than a meal. It becomes memory. Peppers Cantina continues into its next decade; still fresh, still original, still entirely theirs. A celebration of flavor, family, and the community it calls home.
