Article updated: 3/8/2013 1:39 PM

Moving Picture: Aurora woman's restaurant a haven for the hungry

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Maribel Molina Cortes hugs and kisses her daughter Mary Ortega during a recent visit. Mary often comes to help her mother run the business. She runs the front so her mother can cook.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

Cortes prepares shredded chicken at Totopos in Naperville. She is at her business six out of seven days. She closes the business on Sunday so she can rest.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

Cortes lives by these simple words — be grateful, be content. She has them posted in her restaurant for others to learn from.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

Cortes chats with Bryan and Samantha Noble of Naperville during their recent visit to Totopos. Cortes loves to talk to her customers.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

Cortes is all smiles during a conversation with a customer at her business Totopos, a Mexican restaurant in Naperville.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

Cortes makes steak tacos at Totopos in Naperville.

Paul Michna | Staff Photographer

About this Article

Maribel Molina Cortes of Aurora knows what it's like to be hungry. Rough circumstances when she arrived in the United States had her grabbing day-old bagels from trash cans. But now that she owns her own Mexican restaurant in Naperville, she enjoys giving back to others. "For me to be here and help other people, it's a blessing for me," she says.

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