Building a Restaurant From the Tortilla Up

Outside of the few hours a week that Sergio's Place is closed, weekday mornings are the quietest times for the popular downtown Wheaton restaurant.

Much of the time — and especially on weekends — the Salvadoran and Latin American restaurant is a bustling place reminiscent of a Macy's during one of its infamous one-day sales.

Sergio's is where savory fare and affordable prices meet. The extensive menu boasts eclectic choices from seven-inch waffles and Western omelets to classic seafood dishes to more than 10 different kinds of pupusa combinations.

On a recent Friday morning, owner Julio Cruz was enjoying his first meal of the day. His plate was decorated with steak and fried sweet plantains.

"We make the basic pupusas, which has pork, beans and cheese, but we also make a lot of non-traditional ones," Cruz said. "All our dishes are prepared like they would be back home in El Salvador. When we first started, my wife, Marlene, worked in the kitchen, but now we just follow her recipes."

A majority of the meals at Sergio's do not go above $15, and the daily lunch specials are easy on the wallet, too (nothing on the lunch menu is priced at more than $6.99). For those who wish to get more bang for their buck, Sergio's offers a 10 percent discount to patrons who place carry-out orders online. In that case, it pays to plan ahead.

"The lunch specials really help me out," said Crystal Chisholm, a Wheaton Mall employee who just discovered the restaurant a month ago. "It's great to know you can go somewhere other than McDonald's, only have $5 or $6 in your pocket and eat as well as you do."

In 1998, the construction field was not quite panning out for Cruz, so he listened to Marlene's suggestion and the pair gave the tortilla business a try. Calling their new venture Las Guanacas Tortillas, they were able to test out the viability of the business by selling the homemade tortillas in his cousin's Latin American grocery store.

"We started with five or six bags at a time, and then my cousins asked me for double. It continued to grow from there, so I quit construction," Cruz reminisced.

As the brand continued to grow, Cruz rented out a small space at 11324 Fern St. in Wheaton and turned it into a factory.

A mere fraction of its current size, the space was first used to create handmade, El Salvadoran-style corn tortillas and export them to the masses.

Las Guanacas Tortillas went from the shelves of his family's store to international grocers all over the metropolitan area. Some even ventured as far as Baltimore and Richmond, Va.

The word, and not to mention the scent, got around and the inquiries about purchasing the tortillas, which at the time were only shipped out, began to roll in. With such demand, the business expanded again, once it was decided that orders would be taken from the public. 

Then Marlene had another idea: opening a restaurant.

Sergio's Place, named after the couple's grandson, was established in 2000 when Cruz leased yet another space to develop Marlene's plan. The extension was a former mechanic's shop, but with a little elbow grease they made their dream a reality, piece by piece.

Today, the restaurant's interior offers a low-key environment with colorful paintings and maps of El Salvador. Tucked in the corner is a karaoke system that comes alive each Friday night. Adjacent is a full-fledged bar.

"This is mostly a family restaurant," he said. "I don't let people drink too much. If you are sitting here I want you to be comfortable."

The restaurant attracts regulars and newcomers that Cruz hopes will come again and again.

Jazmin Morales, a local teaching assistant, has vowed to make coming to Sergio's a part of her weekly routine.

"It's one thing when a restaurant has great food, which they have here, but it's another thing when the staff treats you like you're home," she said. "It makes your overall experience that much better."