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New flavor comes to region |
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Thursday, 27 December 2007 |
By MARY BARGDILL
Staff Writer
CELINA — Residents of Auglaize and Mercer counties interested in a flare of the southwest will soon find it at a new restaurant.
Agave Mexican Bar & Grill, scheduled to open Jan. 11, will offer customers traditional Mexican entrees of burritos, nachos and quesadillas. As Agave is the plant harvested to produce tequila, many traditional southwestern drinks, such as margaritas, will be served as well.
The new restaurant is located at 2001 State Route 703 in Celina, the site of the former Hollister’s Restaurant. That eatery closed in November 2006.
First time restaurant owner, Jon Kriegel, purchased the property in July.
“It’s just something real different for the area,” he said. “It’s going to have the southwest flair, but it’s going to be made your way, fast and fresh. The concept here is fast, fresh and clean. If we can maintain those three, we’ll do a bang up job.”
Kriegel said that whenever possible, they intend to use local vendors for produce and meat.
“All salads will be made fresh daily. Cheese is graded fresh daily,” Kriegel said. “Everything will be made here from fresh organic foods.”
The kitchen will be manned by head cook Wilfredo Colon of Celina.
“He brings his experience from Guatemala,” Kriegel said.
Customers will place their orders at the counter from the large menu board overhead, and request which toppings and side items they would like added.
Kriegel said he came up with the idea for Agave after visiting a small family owned Mexican restaurant while in California.
“We had the most incredible fish tacos there,” he said. “The flavor was unbelievable. It was different than anything I had before.”
Kriegel said construction crews have been working on renovating the property since July, tackling the foundation and doing extensive work on the façade of the building, replacing crumbling brick with stainless steel.
The flat roof, which was caving in at the center, was replaced with a new gabled roof.
Inside, exposed wooden beams, painted black, and industrial designed lights now hang from the ceiling. Walls have been painted agave green (similar to sea foam green).
Table tops are also stainless steel.
“It’s designed to have a very industrialized look to it,” Kriegel said.
Inside walls were removed to open up the dining and cocktail lounge area, a design with will make it easier for customers to watch games on one of the five flat screen televisions hanging from the walls.
“We’ll have all the games here, so you can grab your favorite game,” he said.
Kriegel had previously worked for Diamond Distributing out of Lima for several years.
“I’ve had a lot of experience in the beer and wine wholesale industry,” Kriegel said. “It was a family owned business, and I was brought up in it,” he said.
The Lima native lived in Celina for two and a half years before returning to Lima to be closer to family. He still maintains a cottage in the area.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 31 December 2007 )
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