Aguas frescas and more: New restaurant serves traditional Mexican dishes and beverages
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IDAHO FALLS — After five years, from selling outside her home to a food trailer to her first storefront to now, the owner of Aguas Maria opened the doors to a new restaurant Friday afternoon.
El Cantaro is at 201 1st Street in Idaho Falls and is open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with traditional Mexican dishes as well as some American staples.
Maria Sanchez, co-owner of El Cantro and owner of Aguas Maria, told EastIdahoNews.com that she has always wanted to own a business but didn’t know what it would be.
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Since she was 13, Sanchez said she has helped her family run their food truck, and the restaurant business has been a family tradition.
“I have the restaurant blood in my in my veins,” Sanchez said. “I wanted to keep that tradition.”
She mulled over the idea of owning a flower shop, but when she started making aguas frescas for her family, it became super popular.
Seeing the demand, she started with a stand outside her home selling those beverages until she opened her first trailer to take them to catered events or markets.
For four years, Sanchez has been selling those beverages either in her trailer or at her storefront on Hitt Road. This storefront is now closed, and aside from her trailer, Aqua Maria’s new home will be inside El Cantaro.
Inside of El Cantaro, there is a dedicated Aguas Maria bar for folks to get their favorite beverages.
The name of the new restaurant was also an extension of Aguas Maria, as “Cantaro” translates to “pitcher” or “jug,” which holds their aguas frescas.
Sanchez said the restaurant’s name also helps connect her to her culture and background. She is from Jalisco, Mexico, and tequila is served in cantaros and is known for those jugs in that state, she said. El Cantaro also has a bar that will serve alcohol, and plans are in place to open a snack bar in the future.
This also ties into El Cantaro’s goal of bringing more nightlife options to the community, as the restaurant has a band stage and space for dancers and bands to perform inside. Sanchez said this will run from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.
For its grand opening Friday, DJ Rudo and Tijuana Sound Events LLC performed.
With every table filled and dozens of community members in attendance for the ribbon cutting, Sanchez said it is because those who believed in her years ago made it possible for her to open this restaurant.
“We’ve always had amazing support from the community. When you give back to the community, they show you their appreciation, and they give back to you,” Sanchez said.
To find out more about El Cantaro, visit its Facebook page.
