While the guajillo chili pepper is considered mild to medium as far as its hotness, the Olivarez family
believes the new location for their Guajillo’s Cocina Mexicana is definitely hot.
Siblings David, Oscar and Rebecca Olivarez, along with their mother, Rosa Olivarez, are the heart of the
family owned restaurant, which re-opened Jan. 25 in a new location at 434 E. Wooster St.
After a successful run on North Main Street, the restaurant was forced to close in October 2015 to make
way for the expansion for the Kroger Marketplace. Though they fairly quickly found a new location, the
family discovered there were extensive things that needed to be done, including the 15-month project of
adding gas lines and the fire protection system for the kitchen. When the site was home to Myles Baker
Street, it had smaller baking ovens, not a complete restaurant kitchen.
Despite the down time, the family believes the move will likely be a long-term boost for the restaurant.
Among the positives for the move is additional seating capacity. Oscar Olivarez said they now have the
flexibility to have larger group seating.
“We used to have only two tables that could seat up to eight people. We now can have parties of up to 16
that can sit together.”
The total capacity can seat a total of at least 20 more guests. Rebecca noted the back dining room also
has a sliding glass door that can separate an entire group for a private party.
While some of their customers liked the Main Street location being away from the campus, the family said
in their first week of operation, they have seen an increase of college students.
“We are still a family business,” Oscar said, noting their full service bar is small and separated from
the dining areas and not a typical college bar.
“The bar is tucked away in the back,” Rebecca added.
“We can cater to the students and families — the entire community,” David added.
With the new location also comes some refinement of the menu. They estimate they have maintained roughly
90 percent of the original menu including Rosa’s homemade soups.
The popular chicken tortilla soup is offered daily. They also regularly feature the Menudo soup and will
feature a seafood soup daily during Lent.
Both David and Rebecca noted the soup selection will change seasonally. David noting they may bring back
featuring a “soup of the day.”
“I love soups,” Rosa said, noting she does not have a written recipe for any of her homemade soups. “I
learned them all from my mother and I just know it in my mind.”
The popular salsa bar is now included with all entrees. One of the new features is the King Burro, a
giant 15-inch long burrito which includes chicken, beef and shrimp that weighs roughly 2½ pounds.
The menu in general is described as a mixture of a typical food establishment in Mexico and an
Americanized Mexican restaurant.
“It’s like Mexican modern or a Mexican Bistro,” David explained.
Oscar added, “It is what some people call Tex-Mex or like a Taquerita,” which is the name for Mexico’s
street markets.”
Throughout this month they will be celebrating “Falcon Frenzy February” with a 10 percent discount to any
Bowling Green State University student or staff member. The discount does not apply to alcoholic
beverages.
The roughly 15-member staff is primarily family with a handful of other people working.
Rebecca said they have five cooks on duty, which speeds up the service time compared to many other
restaurants.
“People don’t have to wait more than an hour for their food. It is at most 40 minutes and at lunch, it is
quicker than that.”
Take-out orders are always available.
Hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and extended to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays. Saturday
hours are noon to 11:30 p.m. and noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays.
