Realizing their dream: Three friends open new Tex-Mex restaurant in Warner Robins

Three friends who met while working for Mexican restaurants in Middle Georgia pooled their money to open a restaurant of their own and realize a shared dream.

Yesenia Tapia, a native of Costa Rica, and Alma Valencia and Manuel Garnica, natives of Mexico, own and operate Sol Azteca Mexican Grill in Warner Robins.

The new Tex-Mex restaurant recently opened at 6009 Watson Blvd., Suite 400, in the Publix at Gunn Battle shopping center off Watson Blvd. near U.S. 41. The restaurant has a Byron mailing address.

Their dream

There’s a story behind the photos of Francisco “Pancho” Villa, a revered general in the Mexican Revolution, that hang in the bar area of the restaurant.

They were proudly placed there by Garnica.

“He had a dream,” Tapia said. “He would say, ‘One day I’m going to put this picture in the restaurant.’ “

Tapia and Valencia also shared the dream of having their own restaurant rather than working for others and of building a legacy.

Their children help with the restaurant from Valencia’s daughter working as a server to Tapia’s son creating the menu format to Tapia’s daughter handling the restaurant’s Facebook page from her home in Miami. Family friends also work at the restaurant.

“It’s our dream, and we can help our families,” said Tapia, who noted that they want their children to pursue their own dreams in life once they finish college. “They can do whatever they want in the future.”

Tapia, Valencia and Garnica work every day at the restaurant. Garnica cooks and trains other cooks.

Tapia and Valencia both wait tables and trade off serving as manager every other week.

“We want to be close to the customers so if we have to change it, we change,” Tapia said. “I listen to my customers.”

Owning their own restaurant, means, “We do everything — all the details — ourselves,” she said.

Some of Tapia’s handiwork is seen in the overhanging baskets, wood carvings on the walls brought back from Costa Rica by her daughter and a photo of a toucan native to their homeland.

The restaurant space includes booths, an outside fenced patio with a fireplace and a private dining room that also can be utilized for everyday seating.

The food

Tapia described the restaurant’s cuisine as Tex Mex with authentic Mexican cuisine on the menu as well as dishes that they know are well liked from their shared experiences of working in Mexican restaurants. They also added dishes to the menu that they each enjoy.

“That way we can serve more people by having more choices,” Tapia said.

The large menu is filled with seven pages of possibilities.

At Valencia’s suggestion, I tried the Quesabirria Tacos that were melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

The birria meat was tender and juicy and was stuffed with shredded cheese into corn taco shells that are grilled flat and then folded over.

The consomme, the liquid the birria meat is cooked in with cilantro and onions, comes on the side for dipping the tacos in or for spooning the broth over the tacos.

Tapia also suggested restaurant-goers try the Molcajete, grilled Mexican cactus with grilled chicken, steak, chorizo (sausage), shrimp, fresh cheese and topped with the restaurant’s “special sauce.”

Popular among Mexicans, Tapia said, is Mole, a dish of shredded chicken, rice and beans, and tortillas with traditional Mexican salsa on top.

“Every Mexican knows what is Mole,” Tapia said.

Tapia and Valencia also suggested the Carne Azada, grilled strips of tender steak served with pico de gallo, lettuce, guacamole, jalapenos, tortillas and rice and beans.

Other recommendations include the Alambre Fajitas with grilled steak and chicken, peppers, onions and bacon topped with shredded cheese and the House Special, a bed of rice topped with melted cheese, grilled chicken, mushrooms, onions and peppers.

A go-to dish for Valencia is the Ceviche, shrimp marinated in lime juice with onions, cilantro, avocado slices, pico de gallo and seasoning.

An appetizer that Tapia had placed on the menu is a favorite: Papas Supremas — french fries topped with melted cheese, tomatoes, ground beef, sour cream and cilantro.

Sometimes, Tapia pairs the appetizer with a steak such as the Sol Azteca Steak, a grilled ribeye steak with grilled shrimp, melted cheese and topped with supreme sauce and served with rice, lettuce, guacamole, lime and pico de gallo.

For something to drink, Tapia suggested their Horchata made with water, milk, rice and cinnamon.

They also serve other flavors of their Aguas Frescas, Coke products, Jarritos, a brand of Mexican soft drinks, Mexican Coke, juices and alcoholic beverages from White Russians to margaritas and daiquiris to wine, beer and tequila.

At a recent event for Friends and Family prior to opening, the friends unexpectedly served their first customers.

“It was really nice to have people in the restaurant just because they saw the cars,” Tapia said.

Hours are 11-9:30 Sunday through Thursday and 11-10 Friday and Saturday. The number is 478-654-5019.