Mexican restaurant with 'life of its own' behind multiple Rockford area spinoffs

Rockford will likely always be known for the cuisine of its early European immigrants who arrived in the city beginning in the 1830s, bringing with them the food from their homelands.

Flash forward about 190 years, and the Forest City is still marked by Italian and European-tinged places to eat. But it’s also becoming a spot on the map for Mexican food, much of which has grown out of a single eatery that some initially said would fail.

“People told us that the last people who tried a restaurant in that spot didn’t make it and that it was a big risk,” said Jose Chavez, who opened Mexico Clasico with business partner Eraclio Macias in 2012 at 3929 Broadway in Rockford.

Before Chavez and Macias moved in, the space had been home to two Mexican restaurants that ended up closing, Hacienda El Patron and Habanero's Mexican Grill.

Today, Mexico Clasico is one of the most popular spots in Rockford. And in the last 11 years, it has spawned at least five other Mexican restaurants.

A few years after Mexico Clasico opened, Chavez independently opened Mexico Clasico Grill on Spring Creek Road. Last year, he had the opportunity to purchase the former Tumbleweed building at 5494 E. State St. and moved there, rebranding as Chavez Mexican Restaurante. In July, Chavez opened Tortilla Express on the ground floor of the Burnham Lofts in downtown Rockford.

Meanwhile, four Mexico Clasico employees have become restaurant owners. Kevin Mata, Gabriel Deldago and Macias opened Mi Placita Mexico Clasico last year in Loves Park. Former server Gabriela Gutierrez is now a partner in the original Mexico Clasico. Claudia Rodriguez opened Jalisco and Tequila this year at 805 E. State St., where Los Portales operated for nearly 20 years.

According to Chavez, who came to Rockford in 2007 from Madison, Wisconsin, and ran Dos Reales for five years, his restaurant background and having a ready-to-execute plan helped him succeed at a location where others did not.

“When my partner came to me said, ‘Let’s do something together,’ I already had a business plan, he said. “I had the name, Mexico Clasico, and I already had the menu.”

The menu, he added, is another lynchpin to making things work and training others how to be prosperous. He knew his food needed to be authentic.

“Rockford has a lot of Latino population,” Chavez said. “And the more Latinos, mainly Mexican, the more demand for that ethnic food. That’s why I am trying to innovate. That's why I evolve."

That means making slight adjustments here and there to appeal to a broader audience while keeping dishes as close to how they’re served in Mexico as possible.

“(In Mexico) we cook more spicy (food),” he said. “But people (here) don’t always like the spicy food. So, we follow our family recipes, just with a milder style.”

Gutierrez agrees. She also says a big part of what makes Mexican cuisine so popular in Rockford is the experience. She believes preparing and sharing authentic dishes is just as important as the food itself. To the staff at Mexico Clasico and its offshoots, meals are celebrations.

“Food connects people,” she said. “It’s the human contact. It’s fantastic, and I love being part of it. (Mexico Clasico) has a life of its own. To patrons that decide come here, we are very thankful to everyone for making this place.”

Jim Hagerty covers business, growth and development and other general news topics for the Rockford Register Star. Email him at jhagerty@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford's Mexico Clasico has led to several other local restaurants