A Trusty sign

After the former home of Trusty Woods in downtown Fort Recovery appeared on the market, Mariachis Mexican Restaurant co-owner Jaime Cervantes said he received several calls assuming he had bought the property.

He took it as a sign.

“A couple farmers in the area called me up because they knew me from Mariachis, and they heard that I bought the place, but it wasn’t true,” Jaime Cervantes said with a chuckle. “After, you know, a few times of hearing the same thing, it just kind of grabbed my attention to come look at the place.”

In August, nearly two years after Jaime and Ana Cervantes purchased the building at 101 W. Butler St., Polanco Mexican Kitchen opened for business.

Polanco offers a variety of authentic Mexican meals, including street tacos, which are corn tortillas filled with a choice of meat and topped with cilantro, onions and lime. Other items on the menu include tortas — they’re defined as Mexican sub sandwiches — fajitas, burritos and quesadillas. From seafood to steak, Polanco offers various authentic Mexican and Mexican-inspired options for customers to choose from.

Jaime Cervantes talked about the importance of using good quality ingredients. He said Polanco uses higher quality ingredients to stand out among its competitors.

“You can eat a taco in five different places, and a taco’s a taco, but it’s really not, because the way you cook it and the quality of the meat makes a difference,” he said. “So you’re going to remember where you actually had the best taco.”

Other creations of the Fort Recovery restaurant include the Polanco Bowl, a bed of rice served with grilled chicken, lettuce, corn, black beans, tomato, shredded cheese and sour cream, and Pollo Polanco, a chicken breast topped with poblano peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese dip and served with rice and beans.

Ana Cervantes mentioned support from the Hispanic and Latino community, with customers returning to eat more of their Mexican fare. 

She also talked about watching folks try authentic meals like street tacos for the first time.

“It makes me really happy to see that, that people really like to step out of their comfort meals, and try (something) different,” she said. “And they fell in love with them.”

Another menu item special to Polanco is the Quesadilla Azteca, a quesadilla stuffed with pork, vegetables and cheese and served with rice and beans. Its name ties into one of the decorations adorning the walls at Polanco — a reproduction of a stone Aztec calendar. Other paintings replicating cultural scenes are scattered around the building.

“I’ve heard a lot of people say that it has a modern vibe,” co-owner Ana Cervantes said. “A lot of Mexican restaurants, they’re popular for their colorful environment and (are) somehow loud, and I wanted to do something different.”

The Cervanteses wanted to create a different atmosphere from their restaurant in Coldwater, which opened in 2019. They began looking at a different perspective on Mexican culture.

“Some Mexican, but modern, that was our purpose,” Ana Cervantes said. “Change up a little bit of the style of a Mexican restaurant.”

The Cervanteses purchased the building in September 2023. Jaime Cervantes talked about the opportunity he saw in the building, pointing to the benefits of owning property. He also noted the building had been in good shape and came equipped with access to a liquor license.

“That was really, you know, what made us make the decision, that we would own that building, and a building right in the middle of town with a lot of history behind it,” recalled Jaime Cervantes.

The Cervanteses stripped the building down to its bare walls amid renovations, installing new electrical and plumbing fixtures and putting in new ceilings and floors. While the building’s antique bar didn’t align with their vision, Jaime Cervantes noted it has since migrated across the street to Fort Recovery Morvilius Opera House. (Plans are to fix it up and put it on display in the future.)

“It’s very nice to hear the customers, when they come in for the first time, their expression is like, ‘Wow. This is a different place.’” he said. “And it’s very fulfilling that, we enjoy those reactions from customers, and when they come and give a little bit of history, that some of them worked here in 1960s, 1970s, you know, and how it has gone from one owner to another, but we actually did the major change to the building.”

Pointing to the short list of eateries in Fort Recovery, Jaime Cervantes noted local residents don’t need to travel for a sit-down restaurant experience. He said he’s seen several Mariachis regulars from Fort Recovery now becoming Polanco regulars. 

Jaime Cervantes talked about the warm reception from Fort Recovery.

“Our plan is to be here for a long, long time, and for customers to come here many, many times, and build memories with their families,” he said.