Hard work brings rewards for immigrant in Iowa

MARENGO — With hard work and perseverance, a Mexican immigrant rose from dishwasher to restaurant owner in rural Iowa.

Alejandra Vazquez opened her first Mexican restaurant in 2022 in Minburn and a second in December on the city square in Marengo.

Vazquez was born in Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, the youngest of three children. She grew up in the Quad Cities area and began washing dishes for a restaurant when she was 16 years old.

When the opportunity arose, Vazquez moved up to the cold prep area, then to the hot prep area.

“Then I went and learned the grill and the line,” said Vazquez. “I became a kitchen lead, and then I became a kitchen manager.”

Eventually, Vazquez made her way to the front, working as server lead, then manager of the front and eventually general manager.

Understanding his wife’s love for the business, Vazquez’s husband, Juan, encouraged her to take the next logical step.

“My husband said, ‘Why don’t you open your own place?’”

But the children — Yordi, Angel and Miranda — were still at home and involved in a lot of activities, such as football, dance and karate, said Vazquez. She needed the flexible schedule which she couldn’t have if she were a business owner.

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“Once they got older, I thought, you know, what? Maybe it’s time,” Vazquez said.

The couple looked for a business in the Quad Cities, but didn’t find anything that met their needs.

So Vazquez turned to Facebook Marketplace. She found a little spot in Minburn, three hours from the Quad Cities.

Though her husband had encouraged her to start her own business, he wondered if she really wanted to open a restaurant in a town of only 325 people.

“He thought I was crazy,” said Vazquez. “But I liked the place. I wanted to start with a little kitchen.” Vazquez wanted a place where she could teach her children how to work.

So the family moved to Minburn and opened Casa Oaxaca Mexican Grill in April 2022. “And I really loved it,” said Vazquez.

The growing business moved to an old train depot at 210 Fourth St. in Minburn last year as Casa Oaxaca & B. B. G Mexican Grill. Formerly a bar, the building is right on the bike trail.

“The kids have been working with me,” Vazquez said. “We work together, all as a family.”

Angel keeps the Minburn location operating. The Dallas County town is minutes from the Des Moines metropolitan area.

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After two years, the family decided it could handle a second location, and, again, Vazquez sought opportunities on Facebook Market Place.

“We were looking for something nearby,” Vazquez said. “We did look at a couple of places.” They didn’t feel right, she said.

What felt right was a newly renovated building in Marengo, nearly two hours away.

“We love the floors. We love how it looked,” said Vazquez. And the owners, Bobbi and Ben Miller, have been great to work with. “They trust us, and we appreciate that.

“I just love the fact there is a park in front of it. It felt like home.”

After looking at the building across from the Marengo City Park, Vazquez drove back to Minburn not knowing if she’d get the lease. “But we did, and we’re here, and we’re happy.”

Not only did they lease the first-floor space for a business, they are living on the second floor. And they’re right next door to another recent addition to Marengo’s growing economy, DK’s Eatery, which is a favorite breakfast spot for the new tenants.

Yordi and Miranda work with Vazquez at J.A. Casa Magnolia in Marengo.

“We serve Mexican food, the most authentic we can get,” Vazquez said. “I like to keep things a little close to home.

“All our sauces are made from scratch. I wanted to have the same thing we eat at home.”

People seem to like the food, said Vazquez, and they’re excited to have a Mexican restaurant in town.

Casa Magnolia opened Saturday, Dec. 14, the day an ice storm moved through town. Vazquez posted on J.A. Casa Magnolia Facebook page that the restaurant would be open, but she didn’t expect people to come out in the storm.

“People came, and we had a pretty good, steady Saturday. It was way better than we expected,” Vazquez said.

“Everyone has been really welcoming. We have met so many people these past days.” Faces were becoming familiar in the first week, she said.

The liquor license didn’t come through that first week, but now that it has been approved, Casa Magnolia will have an extensive drink menu, from margaritas to mixed drinks, mules and mimosas.

The restaurant will served bottled beer and draft beer. Yordi will tend the bar.

Casa Magnolia is closed Mondays. It’s open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. The restaurant offers dine in and carry out and hopes to have online ordering soon.