For those Aptosian and Santa Cruz regulars, we love seeing a familair face like Eddie’s at Manuel’s! He and rest of the staff always have a smile on their face that puts you at ease!
ABOUT SANTA CRUZ DOORS: We want to draw attention to small businesses with a little interview about how Santa Cruz can support them. We invite you to read the short feature, follow them on Facebook, Instagram and support our local businesses so they can remain in business! Let's help keep SANTA CRUZ DOORS open!
We are trying to cope day-to-day with this unprecedented pandemic happening worldwide. We applaud all those in the medical field, grocery stores, food industry, and all essential businesses risking their health everyday to provide for their community. While trying to stay indoors as much as possible, working from home if we can, and taking care of our children, we wanted to do what we could to help small businesses in Aptos/Santa Cruz. I don’t know about you, but we have been longtime fans of Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant for decades! I started going in the 80’s as a kid with my family, a weekly ritual, and must have! After Brook and I were married, he also became hooked. From their Santa Cruz-famous margaritas, addictive salsa, to their mouth-watering enchiladas, tamales, chile rellenos, chile verde, carne asada tacos….I think it’s about time for another Manuel’s fix! Fortunately, they have kept their doors open during these hard times and are available for orders and pick up at their front door. I’m thrilled that their margaritas are also available to-go!
Without further ado, I’d like to share the interview of the owner of Manuel’s Mexican Restaurant, Patricia Santana:
Tell us how long you’ve been in business here?
We opened our doors 55 years ago (on March 15th, 1965) and are still a family operated business. My husband grew up here, was 6 years old and learned to bike on the sidewalk outside the restaurant while his dad, Manny, was cooking, washing dishes and serving. We only had 9 tables in the beginning, and the kitchen was where the bar is now.
How did you get started?
Manny was originally an artist, making his living as a house painter, when a friend suggested he open a restaurant since he was such a good cook. The rest is history.
What do you love about Aptos/Santa Cruz?
The small town community feeling that keeps us all together, along with the amazing natural beauty we are so fortunate to have around us every day.
How has your business been affected by the pandemic and shelter-in-place?
Our business is down, but not as badly as the first few days. The ABC allowing us to serve margaritas to go helps!
How have you made adjustments and how can we as a community support you?
We adjusted to improve our take-out process, added phone lines and reconfigured our staffing and order flow. One of our biggest challenges is that everyone wants to have their food between 5PM and 7:30 PM mostly Friday through Sunday. We’re now not limited by the number of tables, but still, our small kitchen can only make the food so fast. We’re limited by our small kitchen space (480 sq ft.) If our guests call earlier or later, the wait time for food is going to be shorter, also Monday through Wednesdays have shorter wait times at dinner. Sort of a “flattening the curve” for take-out timing.
Thank you, Patricia, for the interview! Please follow Manuel’s on Instagram at @manuelsmexican and check out the video on their Facebook page of them preparing margarita’s to-go:
Manuel’s margaritas, salsa & chips hit the spot when you need to chill at home, and take a break from watching the news. We love their top-shelf margaritas!
Article by Alisha Todd