Phoenix mourns Little Miss BBQ's Jose Mackario Jimenez: 'He brought out the best in people'

Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article misstated the restaurant where Wayne Coats worked with Jose Mackario Jimenez.

Jose Mackario Jimenez of Little Miss BBQ, Cloth and Flame and formerly of Welcome Diner sent a text to his wife on Nov. 5 to say he was heading home. He left work on his bicycle but never made it home. His body was found on the morning of Nov. 6 in the canal near Dunlap and Seventh avenues. He was 47 years old.

Jimenez is survived by his wife, Amanda Nash-Jimenez; his son, David, 30; his daughter Vanessa, 28; his granddaughter, Nadia, 8, and his godmother, Maria Lopez.

“My father loved everyone,” Vanessa said. “There was no judgment. He was open to giving his best to everyone in the kitchen and in life. He was so much positivity and light to everyone.”

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'My father loved his family'

Jimenez was born on May 28, 1975, in Chicago and moved to Arizona at age 10 to live with his brother after his mother died of cancer. He dropped out of school at a young age andeventually got his GED, said his wife, whom he married in 2003. 

Jimenez became a father at age 17 with the birth of his son David. Two years later, his daughter Vanessa was born. Amanda described him as a committed father, who vowed to be present and make a home for his children by working two jobs — in the kitchenat the original Garcia’s Las Avenidas and at UPS — before moving on to cooking full time  in restaurants includingGallo Blanco, Welcome Diner, Little Miss BBQ and as a reserved chef at Cloth and Flame.

Amanda remembered how proud Jimenez was of his children. “He was so proud to own a house and make a home even though he came from the streets,” she said.

“My father loved his family. No matter what mood he was in, he lit up when he saw us,” David said.

“He loved his granddaughter and she adored him,” Vanessa said .

Everyone called him 'grandpa'

Wayne Coats, who worked with Jimenez for six years at Welcome Diner and Cloth and Flame, said that he was known to his friends as "grandpa," not because of his granddaughter, but because of the way he cared for everyone. "He brought out the best in people by being who he was," Coats said.

Coats remembered when people were puton alert about VIPs visiting the restaurant, Jimenez would say, "I don’t care if it’s Obama, I don’t care if it’s yo mama, I don’t care if it’s the Dalai Lama. Every plate goes out the same."

"Jose gave his best to every single person no matter who they were," he said.

"He loved helping people," Amanda said. The two hosted eight foreign exchange students throughout the years, all of whom she refers to as "our daughters." The couple received The President’s Gold Volunteer Services award in 2022. For the past three Thanksgivings, they helped the nonprofit organization Zonka Miles feed kids in group homes.

"He wanted to help kids when he could," Coats said. "Every year he organized a charity at the Welcome Diner to gather backpacks and socks."  

"Having Jose around you had this profound sense of comfort that is absolutely irreplaceable," chef Steve Penrod of Cloth and Flame said. "I have a smile on my face thinking about [the last event we worked together]. The same smile I always had, being around him. It's a specific type of smile. It’s a Jose smile."

"When Jose went anywhere, his presence was felt," Coats said through tears. "I thought it was my loss, but Phoenix had a big loss."

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The circumstances of Jimenez's death remain unclear

The circumstances of Jimenez's death remain unclear. As of this writing, The Arizona Republic requested details and police records about the case. 

Deputy Director Donna Rossi said, "We don't determine the cause, the medical examiner does and the detectives are still working the case."

"To me, whatever happened, I don’t have my friend anymore," Coats said. "I just know he’s gone."

'An unimaginably huge loss'

The fact that Jimenez touched many lives is apparent in the outpouring of sentiments, loving notes, memories and photos that have filled social media.

On Instagram, littlewildwolfe wrote: "This is such an unimaginably huge loss. sending my love to everyone who will be grieving. I know there's going to be a lot of us- to know [J]ose was to love him. "

"He was a life force of that little place and community," wrote Michael Babcock, referring to Welcome Diner. "He cared for others so deeply. He cared about making people happy. People adored coming to see Jose. To have their food made by him."

Jimenez loved to cook for people, he loved all things Chicago, sports, comics, music.

“He was an amazing artist,” his wife said. His connection to people through his various interests hasled to multiple remembrances being organized.

Remembrances for Jose Mackario Jimenez

Little Miss BBQ will host a gathering at 3 p.m. on Nov. 13. The Lost Leaf will have a Backyard Boogie fundraiser on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. during which one of Jimenez’s mentees, who cooked with Jose at Welcome Diner for years, will DJ. Cloth and Flame is alsoplanning a fundraising and remembrance dinner, called Jose's Last Concert Under the Moon Benefit Dinner, on Dec. 4. 

“We'll donate a venue, our team and design the whole thing. Jose loved a long table C&F dinner,” Matt Cooley, CEO of Cloth and Flame said. Several Valley chefs will lend a hand, including, Nick Rusticus from Cloth and Flame, Scott Holmes from Little Miss BBQ, Michael Babcock from Belly, Devan Cunningham from The Good Food Table and Joe Hobson from JetFresh.

Those interested in helping the Jimenez family candonate to their Go Fund Me account at gofundme.com/f/cover-funeral-cost-for-jose-mackario-jimenez. Jimenez loved plants, so the family would love to receive plants in lieu of flowers. 

Meet Bahar Anooshahr:The Arizona Republic's dining and nightlife reporter

Reach the reporter at BAnooshahr@azcentral.com. Follow @banooshahr on Twitter.