Today we’d like to introduce you to Uriel Avecilla.
Hi Uriel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Our story really begins 20 years ago when I started working in the Mexican restaurant business. I saw how good food could bring people together and dreamed of starting my own restaurant. After many years of hard work, My wife and I took a risk and we were able to start our own taqueria–Puerta de Oro! Despite how difficult life has been during the pandemic, we were excited to begin this new chapter and introduce you all to my passion for traditional Mexican food.
Growing up, Mexican food was a part of my family’s daily life whether it was at my house, my tia’s house, my abuela’s house, a restaurant, or a taco stand in Mexico. I love watched my wife Reyna cook for hours to get it “just right!” and once we taste her food it’s delicious! The amount of work and love that goes into making those traditional Mexican meals is amazing and when you taste the food, it makes you feel at home. At Puerta de Oro, we want you to feel that same sense of community when you enter our restaurant and enjoy our food.
We have now been open for ten months and have experienced an immense amount of support from the community. We thank everyone and look forward to sharing a piece of our passion with you.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It was not an easy road to get our restaurant off of the ground. After finalizing the lease, the hard work began. We had to renovate the interior of the restaurant, find staff to work, design a menu that would sell, and market ourselves to the public. It was difficult at first to get people in the door because the building looked like it was closed after being empty for so many years. However, once people tried our food, our business started to flourish. All kinds of people would come to eat and say, “We came because of the great reviews!”
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Puerta de Oro is a Taqueria & Cantina which is a restaurant that serves a bit more traditional style of Mexican food. A taqueria is a traditional Mexican stand, food stall, food cart or restaurant that specializes in tacos and other Mexican dishes. The food is prepared fresh and often served quickly to those who stop at these street-style restaurants. Many various dishes are served, but tacos are the highlight of the menu. Bars are commonly referred to as cantinas in Latin America and Spain. Some cantinas in Mexico are also known for being places where people gather to play dominoes, cards or other table games.
These distinctions make us stand out from other Mexican restaurants because of the experience we offer. We serve traditional foods such as tortas, tamales, gorditas, tostadas, and street-style tacos. We are proud to serve these foods because it brings a piece of Mexico to our diners’ tables and lets them experience a small part of Mexican culture.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
There is always a risk with opening a restaurant. There’s a chance the food won’t be liked, the location isn’t a good spot, or there is too much competition in the area. We went into opening Puerta de Oro knowing all of this, but we still believed in ourselves. Once we opened our doors, it took a while for people to realize we were open, but once word was spread business has been great for us! If we had not taken the initial risk to open our restaurant and keep going through the hard times, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
Contact Info:
- Email: puertadeorocantina@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.puertadeorotaqueriacantina.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/puertadeoro.cantina/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Puerta-de-Oro-Taqueria-Cantina-100205845600326
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/puerta-de-oro-taqueria-and-cantina-canton
Image Credits
I have include some family pictures, for me family is very important, I have three kids they are the motor the keeps me running, also. include some pictures from the restaurant, the last ones are Birria Tacos these are the most popular in the menu along with the fajitas and many other dishes. thank you for everything Sincerely Puerta de Oro Uriel & Reyna Avecilla
