Embracing heritage: The personal history of Cazuela’s Mexican Cantina

Kamryn Karr
Tue, 13 Feb 2024 02:08:31 +0000
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Since 2005, Cazuela’s Mexican Cantina has remained immersed in its Hispanic heritage while catering to customers from all walks of life.

Paco Quezada, an assistant manager at Cazuela’s, along with Ana Arias, a waitress at the establishment and Quezada’s sister, said their extended family began immigrating to the U.S. from Guadalajara, Mexico, in the late 1990s to fulfill their dream of opening a restaurant. Now, they have three locations in Columbus.?

“Cazuela’s is a family company,” Quezada said. “It started with my uncle. He had a vision of opening a restaurant because my family has been alive selling for a long time.”

After leaving Mexico in 2002, Quezada said his immediate family initially resided in Columbus for a brief period but soon after moved to Forest Park, Georgia. When he and Arias were still children, their family moved back to Columbus to assist other relatives — specifically Quezada and Arias’ uncle, original Cazuela’s owner Raul “Kuyas” Gerardo Quezada — with opening the restaurant’s first location in 2005.?

“It’s kind of where your family goes that takes you over there,” Quezada said.

The initial Cazuela’s location, which was situated on North High Street near North Campus, was demolished in 2017 and subsequently replaced with a housing complex. At present, Quezada said the eldest storefront is situated at 2321 N. High St., with the second oldest at 6325 E. Broad St., and the youngest at 1542 N. High St.

Quezada said the 2321 N. High St. location is the most popular, as it possesses a large outdoor patio space complete with a secondary bar. Yet, each location remains successful in its own right because of the staff’s commitment to sharing Mexican culture with Columbus, he said.??

Any praise of the restaurants’ menus is a result of the family’s pure fascination with making and selling food, Quezada said. He said that Guadalajara is often praised for its cuisine and bustling tequila industry.?

“That’s what [the Quezada family likes] doing — they like selling food,” Quezada said. “That’s their thing.”?

Though Arias was only 9 years old when her family moved to the U.S., she said working with Cazuelas’ dishes allows her to stay connected with her Hispanic heritage.?

“It reminds me about my culture because my mom, she is 100% Mexican, and a lot of the food is very similar to her food,” Arias said. “The same thing with my grandmas and my aunts.”?

Outside of food, Arias said Cazuelas’ margaritas are another notable crowd-pleaser.?

“We have happy hours,” Arias said. “Everybody gets to go home happy.”?

In addition to having a deep passion for food, Quezada’s family has a diligent work ethic, which he said is a distinct feature of being an immigrant-owned business.??

“We always work very, very hard,” Quezada said. “So, that’s the thing, that we always just work, work, work. It’s just ingrained in us, basically.”?

Quezada said while he considers Cazuela’s a family business, not all employees are literally related by blood. Nevertheless, the staff has established a familial-like bond.?

“Everyone that works at Cazuela’s is kind of like a family,” Quezada said. “We adopted everybody. We treat everybody equal like they’re our own family.”?

Despite these favorable aspects of being an immigrant-owned eatery, Arias and Quezada both said they occasionally encounter impolite customers.?

Still, Arias said it’s all part of the job.?

“Downsides [are] rude customers,” Arias said. “Because not everybody likes everybody.”?

Still, Quezada said Cazuela’s staff members have had a largely positive experience living and working in Columbus, especially with Ohio State only a few blocks away from the restaurant’s two High Street establishments.??

“Personally, I love it,” Quezada said. “Every year there’s new students coming in. We have met so many people that come later on and are like, ‘I used to come to Cazuela’s a long time ago when I used to go to OSU,’ which to me, that’s great. I love that.”