Entrepreneur has spent a lifetime cooking
Cardenas family operates
Tampa restaurant on weekends
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Hector Cardenas, operator and chief cook at the Casa Azteca restaurant in Tampa, has been cooking since he was 11 years old, and having his own restaurant was something he always wanted to do.
Not that running his own business is anything new.
Growing up in a small town near Guadalajara in southern Mexico, Cardenas often found fault with his mother's cooking.
One day, after hearing another complaint from him, she said, "Since you don't like my food, from now on you can do the cooking." And he did. He was 11 years old.
At age 17, he started his first commercial business. He began preparing Mexican-style sandwiches and selling them at a park. He sold 30 the first week, 50 the next, and soon was up to 300.
"I couldn't even get to the park before people were stopping me and wanting to buy one," he said. He was making good money.
Then he decided to open a taco shop, which he operated for three years. He turned it over to his mother and moved to the United States to work as a cook in the Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas.
He married his wife Felicita 17 years ago. They have five children.
The oldest, Hector, is 16, Jocelyn 14, Christopher 13, Michelle 11, and Christy 9.
The couple moved to Marion four and a half years ago, when they decided they wanted to raise their children in a small town.
"It was a big change," he said, "but it was for our kids."
Cardenas is the head cook at Marion Assisted Living LLC, where he prepares three meals a day Monday through Thursday for 17 residents.
"I love to cook," he said. "I would cook 24 hours a day if I could."
The family began operating the restaurant in Tampa on May 25. They named it "Casa Azteca" and specialize in authentic Mexican food.
It is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Cardenas said the key word that describes the food is "authentic." Everything is made from scratch, including the special sauces that are part of almost every meal. He claims the food is prepared and served up like at no other Mexican restaurant in the area.
Breakfasts of eggs and sausage are served with refried beans and tortillas. Potatoes may be substituted for the beans. American favorites such as biscuits and gravy or cinnamon rolls also are available.
The lunch and dinner menu features at least 15 traditional Mexican meals straight from the south of Mexico. Customers are offered food items they may not have heard of before, such as chile rellenos or carnitas.
For those who don't want to eat a complete meal, an a la carte menu is available. A child's menu and takeout also are offered.
Healthy drinks such as cantaloupe, pineapple, Jamaican, or rice water are part of the menu.
Every weekend, to assuage the appetites of those who prefer American food, Casa Azteca offers a special such as hamburgers and french fries, pork chops, or meatloaf. Fried chicken is offered on Sunday until the supply runs out.
Cardenas said the family feels welcome in the Tampa community.
"They brought us here," he said. "and we feel comfortable. So far, customers have left with a smile on their face."
The whole family helps at the restaurant. They get up at 4:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday mornings to get to Tampa on time to prepare food for the day.
Everyone pitches in where needed. Felicita and Hector help prepare food, the older children wait on tables, and the younger ones wash dishes. Sometimes the two youngest remain at home.
Even with all his years of experience in cooking, Hector noted there's always more to be learned.
"You never stop learning," he said.
The telephone number for Casa Azteca, as yet unlisted, is 785-965-7250.
