Our Team

 

Marcos Rivera - Owner

Marcos Rivera grew up, quite literally, in the restaurant business, working from a very young age at his father’s Las Palmas family of restaurants. After collegiate studies and work in several fields, he returned to the family business in 2002, to assist in the opening of the first downtown location of Las Palmas, in Chicago’s Wicker Park.

There he brought in Chefs and Mixologists and a new Las Palmas emerged, garnering awards and accolades as a Nuevo Latino hot spot. In 2011, Marcos stepped out, to open Libertad in his home town of Skokie. He and his wife Leo have been warmly welcoming both loyal guests and newcomers to the award-winning Libertad ever since. Having always sought out the brightest and best talent, he is so excited for the future with this creative team.

 

Mark Mendez - Chef

Chef Mendez is well known for his use of seasonal and local ingredients and his mastery of Latin flavors. A Chicago native of Puerto Rican descent, Mendez returned from his studies in NYC, alongside chef/restaurateur/author Douglas Rodriguez, determined to return to his roots as well.

He succeeded again and again at bringing Latin flavors to the forefront, through his tenures at Jerry Kleiner’s hugely popular Carnivale, and at his own restaurant Vera, together with his wife Liz, in Chicago’s red-hot restaurant row. Chef Mendez joined Libertad in 2022, and immediately imbued a now team-wide respect for the simple, quality ingredients that bring the best flavor.

 

Ashley Cooney - Pastry Chef

Chef Ashley started her culinary career studying at Kendall College, while working at Table Fifty-Two in Chicago. On a whim, she left to see Ireland in 2011. There she trained with a number of prominent Chefs, married her husband, and they had their 2 daughters. Upon returning to Evanston in 2016, Chef Cooney did turns at Union Pizzeria, and Curt’s Café, as well as starting her own custom cake and cookie business, Ashley Bakes, prior to joining us in 2022. She is thrilled to be back in the kitchen, and Libertad’s sweets have never been better.