Cavz Burgers & BBQ, a family affair

RIO RANCHO — Chris and Christen Cavazos are busy parents. When they are not working at their day jobs or attending their kids’ games at Cleveland High School and Mountain View Middle School, they are serving up food for their new business.

“I have always enjoyed it: cooking and entertaining. We’ve hosted milestone birthday parties at our house, work anniversaries, work parties where I do a lot of the cooking,” owner and head chef Chris Cavazos said.

Cavz Burgers & BBQ has been popping up all around the Rio Rancho area, and one of its regular spots is Cleveland football tailgates.

“‘Cavz’ is just short for our last name, Cavazos... it mostly started at Mountain View [Middle School], coaches and peers started referring to our kids as ‘Cavz’, ” Cavazos said.

Their menu items include fries, smash burgers and barbecue meats.

“So, we started doing this actually as a side gig, then this summer we purchased the food truck, a food truck outdoor mobile grill,” Cavazos said. “We went through the process here in Rio Rancho to get a business license so we could do more events throughout the community.”

Cavz Burgers & BBQ also gets help from the Cavazos’ kids, Aliana, Isaiah, and Christopher Jr. who help them run the ship.

“This really is a family thing, and I love that my kids want to be involved and help,” Cavazos said. “We lived out here in the Rio Rancho area for 10 years now, my son goes to Cleveland, and my daughter will go here next year, and all of our friends are in the Cleveland area.”

Besides helping with the family business, Isaiah Cavazos, a freshman, plays football and basketball for Cleveland, Aliana Cavazos, an eighth grader, plays volleyball at Mountain View, and Christopher Cavazos Jr. is a teacher at Bernalillo high school. Christopher Jr. serves as “the muscle” behind the scenes and helps with prep before events, and helps with clean up.

At the Cleveland homecoming tailgate, their hottest item (that sold out) was the “Cavz ATM Style Burger,” which is a burger with jalapenos and onions smashed in the patty.

“We got invited to Joe Harris Elementary October 25, so we will be out there. Our goal is to serve the people of Rio Rancho, to serve the people in our home,” Cavazos said. “Our focus is barbeque, but I have also done a lot of catering over the years, which included Mexican food, tacos, I can do any menu items that are requested,”

If you would like to reach out to Cavz Burgers & BBQ, you can find them on Instagram under cavzatm.