Owners call 2 Bros Mexican Bar & Grill a lifelong dream

Brothers Misael and Sidronio Mijangos have worked in all kinds of restaurants over the years, always dreaming of opening their own place. A chance to do so never arose, however, until an unexpected encounter earlier this year.

When Sidronio heard that Iowa Brëd was closing its doors, he sprung at the chance to acquire the building. His hopes were dashed, however, to learn someone else had already made that purchase.

He spent months trying to find the new owners until, by some stroke of luck, he found himself serving them at Mi Pueblo Real.

“From there, it got the ball rolling,” he said. “For some reason, I was supposed to take care of these clients … It was pure stars aligning, fate, whatever it was. If it weren’t for that, if it weren’t for me serving a table that happened to have these people, this never would have happened.”

A few meetings later, the restaurant opened under the name “2 Bros Mexican Bar & Grill” on June 5.

Since then, the siblings have found their venue along the railroad tracks in high demand.

“People kept coming back,” Sidronio said. “We didn’t realize there were going to be so many regulars at this point. Saturdays, when we do live music or DJs, more people were coming out than we expected.”

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Keeping up with that success proved demanding.

“They basically are here all the time,” said Angela Mijangos, Sidronio’s wife. “He literally is here 24/7, he goes home and sleeps, barely, and then comes back over and does it all again.”

Sidronio said he hoped the effort would set a good example for younger members of the family.

“It really is a family business. It just shows how we are, as a family,” Sidronio said. “We really want to bring 100% to the table, to show how hardworking we are … nieces and nephews are being brought up in a way that they see how hard the work is, but they also appreciate hard work (and) responsibility.”

Having family at work does make it a little easier to devote so much energy, however.

“We’ve always been together through everything, and it’s important to continue that in the business endeavor as well,” Misael said. “And because we’ve worked together a lot of years, we have confidence in each other and trust each other when it comes to business.”

The family comes with another upside as well: a knack for working with food.

“My whole family really likes to cook, my mom, my grandmas,” Misael said. “We come from a family that really loves to cook.”

Direct quotes from Misael and Sidronio Mijangos for this article were translated by Angela Mijangos.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com