Staff writer
Diners can say “adios” to Marion’s La Hacienda Mexican restaurant, but don’t fret: Cazadores, another Mexican cuisine restaurant, will say “hola” to the community next week.
Restaurateur couple Jonathan and Leora Ramirez recently bought the La Hacienda building to relocate their business from Yates Center.
“‘Cazadores’ means ‘hunters’ in English,” Leora said. “We will have a wildlife theme once we’re finished remodeling.”
Leora said they are of no relation to Juan and Maria Ramirez who they said sold them the building.
The couple has installed a new kitchen floor, repaired dining room walls, and cleaned and organized the space extensively. They also painted the interior walls the same color of orange as the front face of the building, but they haven’t decided on what color the ceiling will be.
Leora said interior decoration would not be entirely complete by the time they open.
Leora will manage the front. Jonathan will cook and manage the back.
“I love to cook for people,” Jonathan said. “Making authentic Mexican food is what I do. Everything is homemade.”
He said his specialties are beef, chicken, or shrimp fajitas, carnitas, steaks, and various hot, mild, and ranchero salsas. They also plan to offer various daily specials along with regular menu items.
“Jonathan’s fajitas always come out sizzling,” Leora said. “People in Yates Center used to buy his salsa by the case.”
Both worked in restaurants for 10 years prior to their two-year stretch managing Cazadores in Yates Center.
Some Marion County diners may have already tasted Jonathan’s food. He said he previously worked at La Cabana in Hillsboro.
Leora said they decided to relocate to Marion because its bigger population offered them a bigger customer base.
The cost efficiency of owning a building that has an apartment above the business space also appealed to them.
What with uprooting their home and business to a new place, the move has been a little hectic for them. As of Tuesday, they still had a lot of organizing to do in the dining room.
“People ask us how we can live and work together,” Leora said. “It was just us in Yates Center and we work so well together. We connect. We’re just always there for each other.”
As a business, they strive for customer service and satisfaction. Leora said they used to have community and fundraiser events at their Yates Center location.
“We always say we’re customer-owned,” Leora said. “Without customers we wouldn’t be able to run a business we love.”