Lompoc’s Floriano’s Mexican restaurant finds everlasting house, expands operations

“Every little thing goes to remain the identical so far as the idea,” mentioned Rodriguez, pointing to the gutted eatery being labored on by contractors, which quickly may have new kitchen gear, flooring and cubicles. “You order up entrance and sit down — hopefully, so long as COVID-19 is completed. But when it isn’t, we’ll be capable to have exterior eating, which is one thing we’ve not been in a position to provide.”

Standing within the entrance yard of the brand new restaurant his household bought final 12 months in September, Rodriguez glanced throughout the road to observe clients enter their present location.

“We had been hoping to purchase that constructing,” he mentioned, explaining that the acquisition worth was out of their attain after the property was rezoned to accommodate hashish gross sales. “But it surely did not work out.”

Since relocating from a smaller footprint location on Ocean Avenue to the previous Carrows constructing six years in the past, Rodriguez mentioned enterprise has steadily grown due to the help of a tight-knit group, nonetheless, the household was compelled to forgo some specialty providers that initially outlined their model.

Rodriguez’s father, co-owner and restaurant namesake, Floriano Rodriguez, is the butcher of the household. Nonetheless, as a result of structure of the present restaurant, which is located within the high-traffic Flower Valley Plaza, members of the family have not been in a position to course of as a lot wild sport as they as soon as did, they usually stopped smoking meat.

“Now that we had been in a position to buy this [building], we will do it proper and do the wild sport processing,” mentioned Rodriguez, touring the emptied again portion of their new constructing. “We will convert this storage storage space into a 3rd walk-in [refrigerator] with a railing system that is going to roll out to this reducing room.”

With a mechanized railing system, the restaurant will be capable to course of and age 15 to twenty slaughtered animals at a time, an unlimited distinction from the four- to five-animal most they now are in a position to course of and stack on shelving models resulting from lack of house.

With the push of a button, the railing system will likely be designed to ship the aged sport, days after being gutted, skinned and quartered, to the processing room for butchering. 

“Clients often wish to age [wild game] two to a few weeks, relying on their liking,” Rodriguez mentioned. “However since we do not have the flexibility to hold them now, [customers] are simply growing older them on their very own or they only slaughter them after which we butcher them.”

Along with pigs and deer, the streamlined system will allow Floriano’s restaurant to course of steer, a service they’re at the moment unable to supply of their rental house. 

Returning to its early days, the eatery once more will provide meat smoking by way of an onsite, specifically designed indoor smoking room, in response to Rodriguez.

“It is one thing we used to do six years in the past at our previous location,” he mentioned, noting that bacon, ham and turkey are some buyer favorites. “We’ll be capable to smoke 200 to 330 kilos of meat at a time.”

Now that issues are falling into place and a grand opening is in sight, Rodriguez remembers when buying the constructing final 12 months grew to become a priority.

“It took eight to 9 months longer than it ought to have,” Rodriguez defined. “We had been supposed to shut in April or Might, however COVID hit in March and canceled every part. The [Small Business Administration] stopped funding, and we did not begin re-working the mortgage till July.”

Rodriguez mentioned they had even given their landlord Richard Sacco discover that they might vacate in Might since escrow was resulting from shut on their new constructing.

“We had been type of apprehensive for a little bit bit if had been going to have the ability to do something, however we had been lastly in a position to get it performed,” Rodriguez mentioned, including that Sacco was supportive and supplied them a month-to-month lease to get them by way of a time of uncertainty.

Rodriguez additionally credit Lompoc metropolis officers for working diligently to get plans permitted to satisfy the brand new September 2020 escrow deadline.

“Town, inside 30 to 45 days, was in a position to approve the plans. They labored rapidly,” Rodriguez mentioned. “They stepped up and helped us push these plans by way of.”

Rodriguez mentioned he expects the transition to the brand new constructing to be a straightforward one and should not require quite a lot of days of closure since most every part will likely be brand-new.

As soon as moved in, not an excessive amount of will change, he added.

Rodriguez’s mother, Maria Rodriguez, a co-owner, will resume her function as head prepare dinner; Rodriguez’s spouse, Katie, will proceed middle-of-the-house duties, and his father will get again to butchering.

However one factor will definitely be totally different, he mentioned.

“It is like renting a home for 15 years, then you definitely lastly personal it, and you can do no matter you need to it,” Rodriguez mentioned. “It is a household affair. We’re all simply excited to get this chance.”