It occurs on a regular basis. A brand new buyer at Tu Asador asks for a plate of fajitas. Or possibly an order of crispy beef tacos. Or enchiladas with yellow cheese and chili con carne.
“I’m sorry,” the shopper is advised, “however we don’t supply that.”
Tu Asador doesn’t serve Tex-Mex. The Fort Hills restaurant serves steaks and dishes from northern Mexico.
The menu is replete with objects you don’t usually see in San Antonio, the capital of Tex-Mex delicacies: tuétanos (bone marrows topped with chimichurri), costillitas al tajín (brief ribs with limey tan butter) and tacos de filete y tuetano (tender filet slices topped with bone marrow), to call three.
“Every thing you see on the menu is actually my mother’s and my household’s recipes,” stated Tu Asador co-founder Regina González. “It’s the whole lot we used to eat at dwelling.”
In her youth, dwelling for González was south of the border. She and her three siblings, all Tu Asador co-workers, grew up in Monterrey, Mexico. Their father, José Luis González, was a cattle rancher, and later, an English-Spanish translator. Their mom, Sandra Martinez, labored in actual property and ran a flour tortillería.
At age 6, José de Jesus, the youngest sibling, discovered to cook dinner steaks from his father. Father and son turned designated grill masters. Mom served as prime chef within the kitchen. The youngsters ate the meals they now serve at Tu Asador.
When the household relocated to San Antonio in 2008, the yard grilling continued. Carne asada turned a staple after church on Sundays.
As the youngsters grew up, they discovered work as waiters, bartenders and kitchen employees. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 left all of them unemployed. To pay payments, they started delivering carne asada to family and friends members from a ghost kitchen.
The enterprise went so nicely, they turned the ghost kitchen right into a brick-and-mortar institution. Tu Asador opened in 2021.
“We don’t slot in with Tex-Mex, and that has been one of many challenges,” stated Regina González, who handles advertising for the restaurant. “We’ve needed to change individuals’s minds about that.”
Mission achieved: Tu Asador opened a second location in Encino Park in 2024.
The San Antonio Report sat down with González to debate a spread of subjects, from bringing the flavors of Mexico to San Antonio to constructing a profitable restaurant in Fort Hills, with no entrepreneurial expertise.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
How did you get into the restaurant enterprise?
After I was a senior at Churchill Excessive Faculty, it was powerful occasions with the economic system. I had to assist out. So my mother and I began working at El Bucanero. I used to be a hostess after which I used to be an expo, bringing out meals to servers. And my mother labored within the kitchen. After that, I labored for nearly 10 years within the trade. I used to be at Scuzzi’s, Palenque, Rosario’s, far and wide.
What impressed your loved ones to begin a ghost kitchen in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic?
In Monterrey, it was quite common for us to get collectively and do carne asada on the grill. When the pandemic began, we had been grilling at dwelling as a result of that’s what we do. On the time, we had been all within the restaurant trade, dwelling off of ideas. However the eating places closed down. So we began plate gross sales. ‘Hey guys, we’re doing carne asada. Anyone need to purchase some?’
Inform me concerning the ghost kitchen operation.
My brother was the cook dinner. He was actually on the grill and taking courses at St. Philip’s Faculty to grow to be a chef. My mother did all of the salsa and charro beans. My sister, Emilia, and I might pack the meals and do the prep work. My husband and my dad had been doing all of the deliveries. I did the advertising on-line and took all of the calls.
Did you get numerous calls?
We had been shocked on the response. We had been doing deliveries inside a 20-mile radius of San Antonio. We went virtually all the way in which to Canyon Lake. We went to Alamo Ranch. We went to Boerne. We had been going throughout San Antonio. We created an Instagram account and began pushing footage they usually began getting very talked-about. We did that for an entire 12 months.
What made you select this venue in Fort Hills for Tu Asador?
We requested an excellent buddy who’s a realtor to seek out us a industrial house. We didn’t have an enormous funds. He introduced us to this place. And once we walked in, the tables had been set with glasses. We went to the kitchen and all of the tools was there. It got here with the hire. It was just about able to go. And after they advised us the value, we had been like, ‘This can be a steal.’ It’s like God is telling us, ‘That is your probability. That is the door. Simply open it.’
You opened in Could 2021. When did you understand Tu Asador had grow to be successful?
We did an enormous opening occasion on Mexican Independence Day (Thursday, Sept. 16). We had the mayor, a bunch of employees and neighbors from Fort Hills. We obtained a full home. By Sunday of that weekend, we needed to shut early as a result of we utterly offered out of merchandise. And it simply stored rising and rising from there.
How busy did it get?
We began having three-hour waits. The primary time it occurred, we couldn’t imagine it. We had individuals lining up exterior earlier than we opened. It was like, ‘Hey, I believe we’re doing one thing proper. Let’s hold it going.’
You will need to have had some challenges that first 12 months. How laborious was it to battle by means of adversity?
It was laborious. We had been all working right here. I used to be bartending 24/7. My brother was within the kitchen 24/7. My mother was within the kitchen 24/7. My two sisters had been right here. It was a studying course of for everyone. We have now a daughter and my sister has children. We did have individuals complain, ‘There’s children working across the restaurant.’ I’m sorry. I don’t know what to let you know however there’s going to be children as a result of they don’t have wherever to go.
What do your sisters do? And do your mother and father nonetheless assist?
Valentina is the administrator. She’s excellent with all of the banks and loans and permits. She was in Seattle and moved down to assist. Emilia largely works from dwelling however once we opened, she did a number of the entrance of home administration. My mother’s nonetheless round within the kitchen. And my dad supervises and does numerous the looking for issues we purchase like meat and tortillas.
Did José end culinary faculty?
He didn’t end his research as a result of he needed to be right here within the kitchen.
What are Tu Asador’s hottest dishes?
Tabla de carne asada with charro beans and tacos Nuevo León. Our hottest appetizer is fried cauliflower and empalmes de chicharrón for individuals from Monterrey.
How did your loved ones go from working a ghost kitchen to working a profitable restaurant?
I believe the one reply is God. This was very stunning to us. It was undoubtedly not one thing we deliberate. Sure, we joked about having a restaurant. However we by no means really deliberate it. The chance simply offered itself. We’re very grateful. We undoubtedly really feel blessed.
