Las Margaritas in Avon Lake adjustments house owners, restaurant idea

Proprietor Adriana Melo works the counter at Las Margaritas, 519 Avon Belden Highway in Avon Lake, as the shop prepares to open on Oct. 31. (Martin McConnell — The Morning Journal)

Las Margaritas, positioned at 519 Avon Belden Highway in Avon Lake, opened earlier this yr as a three way partnership between Rogelio Hernandez and his enterprise associate Adriana Melo.

The most recent in an extended line of eating places owned by Hernandez, he stated Las Margaritas initially was deliberate as a “conventional” sit-down Mexican restaurant.

Nonetheless, the younger restaurant skilled constant staffing points, which precipitated coaching staff to pull on, Hernandez stated.

“We began right here in February with a brand new idea, with only a common sit-down Mexican restaurant,” Melo stated via Hernandez, her translator. “We made the choice to do the change as a result of, sadly … we simply had been having issues with the employees, as a result of we had been coaching on a regular basis.

“They might work for per week, a month, two months, and go away.”

Now extra akin to quick informal eating places like Chipotle and Moe’s Southwest Grill, the restaurant marketed it has extra conventional Mexican substances than the chain eateries, offering a dozen completely different meat choices.

“I (advised Melo), look, we’ve already talked about this, let’s simply make it a Chipotle fashion,” Hernandez stated. “The real looking a part of a sit-down Mexican restaurant, if you wish to do issues proper, you could have not less than 4 guys who know what they’re doing.

“With this idea, you solely want one.”

The change passed off Aug. 24, and after a gradual begin, the restaurant steadily has gotten again to an identical degree of enterprise as earlier than because of phrase of mouth round Avon Lake.

“Once we made the change,” Hernandez stated. “We had been like, did we make a mistake?

“We had been scratching our heads. After that, folks began discovering out and it began getting good. Individuals began speaking about it on the town, and on social media.”

Hernandez stated he not too long ago offered the restaurant to Melo within the hopes that the constructing may obtain a liquor license quicker together with her on the helm.

Whereas the restaurant is doing common enterprise with out the flexibility to promote alcohol, Hernandez stated that liquor definitely would assist.

“What’s actually been hurting this enterprise, is the liquor half,” he stated. “As a result of with out liquor, folks come, don’t get me mistaken, but it surely’s not the identical.”

Hernandez stated the hope is that the restaurant will be capable to safe a liquor license throughout the subsequent few months.

He and Melo nonetheless are ready on their preliminary listening to for the allow.

Within the meantime, the restaurant is open for enterprise.

Las Margaritas now sports activities an internet order pickup window, in response to Hernandez.

The restaurant additionally is obtainable on Doordash and Toast, he stated.

“We work so laborious to make it work,” Melo stated. “We’re excited to see the turnaround now, that the persons are loving it.

“Individuals are speaking so extremely about it. We put our coronary heart into it … we will’t wait to see the restaurant working one hundred pc full time with liquor and all the things.”

Las Margaritas is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Monday via Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays; and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sundays.