Serving it up at Sopapillas: Mexican restaurant opens under Ashland bridges

Oct. 26—ASHLAND — A new restaurant owner in Ashland has embraced a couple local landmarks to help form the eatery's identity.

"The best thing I like about this place is, I don't know why, but I feel so attracted to the bridges," said Sopapillas owner Jaime Lopez as he pointed to his shirt back displaying the blue and green bridges the connected Ashland to southeastern Ohio. "That's like the signature for this place — let's go under the bridge to eat."

Sopapillas officially opened on Friday, Oct. 14. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 to 9 on Sunday.

Lopez knows La Finca is a tough act to follow. It was in the same spot — at 1202 Greenup Ave. — for 26 years.

Rafael and Carmen Rodriguez owned the well-respected Mexican restaurant. They're Lopez's cousins, and they knew Lopez was well-regarded in the restaurant industry. He also owns Molcajete, which is, according to Trip Advisor, the No. 1 restaurant in Geneva, Nebraska — a town of about 2,000.

"(Rafael) called me to say he wanted to retire," Lopez said. "He realized life is short and he wanted to enjoy a little more life. I said, 'I could come look at your place.'

"I do like the area," Lopez added. "I've been here for two, three months. It's a nice place with nice people, very friendly people. That means a lot. It makes you feel like you came home."

Lopez, Ana Lopez and Brenda Alvarez are all part-owners of the restaurant. Ana is Jaime's niece. Alvarez is Ana Lopez's cousin.

Lopez said one aspect about his restaurants that stands out is aesthetics. A variety of art will greet the eye at Sopapilla's once it's fully ready.

Atmosphere is important, he emphasized.

"There's a style that's coming to the walls," he said, referring to artistic works en route from both the states and Mexico.

Lopez is originally from Jalisco, Mexico.

Alvarez's family roots are in Jalisco as well. She grew up in Franklin, Tennessee, before moving to Winchester, where she finished high school at George Rogers Clark. She then graduated from the University of Kentucky.

Her family is connected to Mexican restaurants in Morehead, Lexington, Richmond and Cynthiana, among other places.

She said her dad has a restaurant in Virginia. Her uncle operates one in South Carolina. Ana's family has one in Michigan, Jaime's brother has a couple in Nebraska and Kansas.

"It's common for a lot of Mexican restaurants to know each other or know where they come from," Alvarez said. "It's a big community."

Sopapillas is named after a Mexican dessert. This restaurant's version is a square piece of fried dough with honey, caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top of it. It's served with ice cream topped with whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry.

"We serve it as a square versus a triangle so you get that rich pocket of air," Alvarez said. "It's perfect to complement with the ice cream."

Settling on a name was tough, Lopez said.

"Kentucky has so many Mexican restaurants," he said. "Every name you choose, it's already taken. We were down to Sopapillas and a couple others, and we decide to use Sopapillas."

That wasn't the only obstacle for the Lopezes and Alvarez to clear. The kitchen was a place of bad luck for Jaime Lopez for a while.

"It's been very challenging because everything I touch in the back, it breaks," he said. "I spent double what I expected to spend. Fortunately, everything is now running like it should."

Lopez says all menu items are made from scratch, and Alvarez can attest to that.

"Jaime brought in a lot of new recipes," she said. "Every sauce, from the teriyaki on the salmon to the salsa verde, they're all homemade. We took away the hot sauce bottles on the table because we make everything from scratch in this kitchen."

Lopez said patrons may order spices on the side if they choose, but he's not seeing that much here in Ashland yet.

"They like it on the plates," he said.

"We've had good feedback about the food," he added.

Some of his favorites include camarones fundidos, costillas en salsa verde and chili Colorado, which offers quite a kick.

(606) 326-2664 — asnyder@dailyindependent.com