Funviralpark The new restaurant is located on South Main Street across from Superior Grocers, a popular grocery chain that prides itself on succeeding in areas where other chains may have failed.
A few years ago, Ramos purchased the space where the restaurant now stands and the space next door. There was already a restaurant there, but both Ramos and Monares said it wasn’t a good place and not a good business.
“It wasn’t my plan [to start the restaurant], my plan was to repair it and rent it out,” Ramos said. However, his friends and family encouraged him to take it on and he decided to give it a try.
Ramos and Monares met around 2008, when Monares was running El Torito, and Ramos and his family would go out for brunch every Sunday. Their friendship developed over the years, and when Ramos took the plunge and opened a restaurant, he was asked to join Monares, who had managed several restaurants over the years and had extensive knowledge. Having run several IHOPs in Los Angeles, the challenge of making Casa Ramos work attracted him.
The sentiment that Casa Ramos would fail was something Monares heard over and over again.
“I’ve been listening [the restaurant] It’s not for this region,” Monares said. “Hector’s security guard said if he made it to 4th Avenue he would be successful, but the harder it got, the more he wanted to do it. People here deserve it, they said he was on 4th Avenue You don’t have to go to
But like many restaurants before letting people in their doors, the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress of obtaining permits and licenses was the initial challenge.In May 2021, when the restaurant’s construction was about 90 percent complete, a city water tank truck crashed into the side of the building. Surveillance footage from the day shows the truck driving down the street before crashing into the corner of the restaurant. A pipe burst, flooding the restaurant floor and submerging the front of the truck almost completely into the building.
It delayed them by about six months. Still, Ramos and Monares managed to see the bright side of things.
“It wasn’t a good thing, but it was a good thing we weren’t open at the time,” Monares said. The street had been taken over by so much construction that the city had done that there were trucks of water tanks in the street that day and the surrounding businesses suffered for months as people avoided the area and the construction.
The restaurant officially opened on November 26, hosting the Mexico-Argentina World Cup match. Even though it was an early morning match, there were still a lot of people.
“We want to bring people to the area and create a nice, family-friendly atmosphere,” Monares said.
The restaurant features a stage with a mariachi band playing in front of the fireplace, and a portion of the restaurant is set aside for private parties and buffet-style events.
“We are bringing something new to the region. We want to offer not only traditional food, but fresher and more affordable,” says Monarrez.
Their menu does just that, featuring dishes like chilaquiles topped with salmon fillet and roasted vegetables. .
The official grand opening will take place in late January or early February, after potential customers have recovered from their holidays and have had time to start looking for their new favorite food spots. And they don’t want to stop at just her one restaurant.
“If you can make it work here, you can make it work anywhere,” says Monarrez.
visit: Casa Ramos, 1717 S Main St, Santa Ana; 657-232-1096, casaramosrestaurant.com
