Mar. 27—Customers are Marco Saavedra's favorite part of running his Painesville Township restaurant, with the Casa Agave owner noting that regular patrons "feel like family" after four years in business.

The Mexican restaurant opened on March 23, 2019, at 1531 Mentor Ave. Saavedra and the restaurant's staff offer what he described as "mostly Tex-Mex" meals, though he noted that they have also added "more authentic Mexican food."

He also has plans to further expand the restaurant's fare and entertainment offerings.

Saavedra runs the restaurant with family members, including his wife and brother. His wife is a chef who was trained in Mexico, and the owners work with people from Mexico City who are familiar with the regional cuisine.

"You can try fajitas here, and every single Mexican restaurant sells the fajitas, but you're going to notice a difference in the taste," he said, adding, "We worked a lot on the recipes, like the salsas."

Saavedra highlighted the restaurant's volcano bowl. He said that it includes "a little of everything," including a steak fajita, chicken breast, chorizo, carnitas, shrimp, cactus, shredded cheese and other foods. It also comes "with a side of rice, beans, salt, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, tortillas."

"That plate's for two people," he added.

Saavedra noted that burritos are popular as well, including the Ohio burrito. The restaurant's online menu described the dish as a 10-inch flour tortilla stuffed with chicken, chorizo, rice and beans and topped with lettuce, sour cream and pico de gallo.

He added that another burrito, the parillada, comes in a skillet with a 12-inch tortilla and rice, beans, chicken, steak and shrimp inside, along with a chipotle sauce on top.

"I'm thinking to cut off the menu a little bit, to make this easier" for customers to choose, Saavedra said.

He noted that the restaurant's staff is considering ways to improve the experience, including plans to potentially offer live music.

The restaurant and its patrons have also gotten to know each other over the past four years, Saavedra explained, with the staff knowing which days certain diners attend.

"They really enjoy the place, and we really enjoy to see people happy here," he said, adding, "People appreciate us. We appreciate people."

One challenge Saavedra faced when opening Casa Agave was the number of competing restaurants along Mentor Avenue.

He added that other Mexican restaurant owners helped the staff with the process of opening, though he and his team have kept the restaurant independent.

"We started this restaurant with no other Mexican restaurant owners, because we're trying to do our ideas," he said. "We want to work the way that we want to work. We don't want somebody else on the top."

Saavedra noted that the restaurant has worked to maintain certain standards in areas such as "clean service...the quality of the food, the presentation on the plate, the price."

He and his family did not grow up in Ohio, but he noted that they have come to appreciate the state, including its schools and its people. His brother noted that they grew up in the Los Angeles area, though their family came from Degollado in the Mexican state of Jalisco.

Saavedra said that he came to the Buckeye State "looking for new opportunities, challenges."

"California has nice weather, but here is nice people," he explained, adding, "We just feel welcomed to Ohio."

Casa Agave

1531 Mentor Ave., Painesville Township

casaagavepainesville.com

440-579-5880