Celaya Tex-Mex combines 'new generation' with old family favorites

Cousins Jesus Frias and Kevin Fajardo grew up in their families’ Mexican restaurants in Iowa and Illinois, respectively. When they opened Celaya Tex-Mex at 217 S. Duff last summer, they wanted to bring a youthful feel to their business.

“We’re kind of the new generation. Our parents are a little bit more old school,” Frias said. “We have some new ideas and thought Ames would be a good match for us because of the college students.”

The quesabirrias, for example, are popular with the younger crowd. The dish is three small quesadillas, dipped in a special sauce, then filled with beef, onions and cilantro. They are served with an au jus-style dip on the side. It’s kind of a Tex-Mex spin on a French dip sandwich.

“The beef is marinated overnight, then we cook it for a couple of hours. There are some secret ingredients there,” Fajardo said.

Street tacos, seafood dishes and vegetarian items are some customer favorites as well.

The story behind the Celaya’s name and logo

“Celaya is the city in Mexico where our parents are from,” Frias said.

The restaurant’s logo is a line drawing of a water tower and a goat.

“Celaya is really famous for cajeta, a caramel made from goat milk,” he said. “The water tower is really famous in that city, and there’s a legend that the water tower is full of cajeta.

“That’s something we want to incorporate into our menu, too. On our dessert menu, we have churros that are infused with cajeta. And we want to add more items in the future.”

Celaya offers new décor, no sewer smell

Fajardo and Frias have made many updates to the interior of the building. Some of the décor includes ornate windows from Fajardo’s childhood home in Cherokee.

“It definitely has a different vibe to it,” Fajardo said.

“One thing a lot of people talk to us about is, they don’t know how we did it, but we got rid of the sewer smell,” Frias said.

The cousins hired a plumber who was able to get rid of the septic smell that had haunted several restaurants in the building over decades.

“One of the guys who comes in here a lot to eat says we should advertise that we fixed it, because the smell has been a joke in town for such a long time,” Frias said.

Along with some innovative dishes, Fajardo and Frias’ menu includes several nods to their family roots, especially their moms, DoraElia Frias and Lupe Fajardo.

“Our moms are really good cooks — extraordinary,” Frias said. “We’ve been thinking there should be some things on the menu like our moms would make. We’re trying to get those dishes down the way they would make it.”

When he was a teenager attending church potlucks with his family, going last in line to be polite, Frias would never get a chance to get his own mom’s cooking because it would be gone already.

“That’s how you know your mom has a good hand in the kitchen. When it’s the first one that’s gone,” he said.

Authentic menudo is on the menu for most weekends.

“Menudo is a stew made with tripe. It has a rich flavor. Typically, it’s pretty well-known as a hangover cure,” Fajardo said with a laugh.

The Papa Loca is a potato-based dish created by Frias’ father at his restaurant in Danville, Illinois.

“I didn’t see anything like it on a menu around here, and it’s really taken off,” Frias said. “It’s a baked potato that we open up and top with steak, grilled chicken, shrimp, vegetables, shredded cheese and sour cream. When people see it for the first time, they’re always amazed.”

There is a rotating menu of drinks at the bar, including a variety of margaritas.

The downstairs of Celaya will be available for event rentals. Frias and Fajardo also offer catering services for off-site events.

The community has been welcoming to the new business owners.

“People in Ames are really, really, really nice,” Frias said. “It really shocked me. It’s really nice to come here and work, and the people come here are always smiling.”

Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: A water tower full of caramel is the legend behind Celaya's logo