New Mexican Restaurant Finding Success at Fishers Station Shopping Center
Writer: Jon Shoulders
Photographer: Jamie Sangar
Celso Gonzalez, general manager of Tequila Sunrise Mexican Cuisine near 116th Street and Allisonville Road in Fishers, says a key element to the establishment’s success so far, with regard to food and customer satisfaction, is the avoidance of complacency.
“We’re always trying hard to make ourselves different from any other Mexican restaurant,” Gonzalez says. “I want it to be unique. Our menu is probably 75 percent different than any other Mexican restaurant. All the love and passion that we put into the food is what makes the difference between us and other restaurants. I want to offer the best service and really earn every dollar that comes into my door.”
Gonzalez says the recently opened restaurant, like its popular sister store in Brownsburg, offers a unique take on Mexican fare with traditional dishes like carne asada, mole con pollo and tamales, along with more customized offerings including portobello mushroom tacos, chicken and spinach taquitos, seafood nachos and chicken zucchini.
“If a member of your family doesn’t want anything Mexican, we have things like ribs, burgers and fish on the menu,” says Gonzalez, an Indy resident since 1999. “And we create our own mixes for a couple of our cocktails – the roasted pineapple orange margarita is popular, and our grilled mango and fresh ginger margarita is very good.”
Several years after opening their successful Brownsburg location in 2010, Gonzalez and his brother, owner Gerardo, started searching for the right spot to expand their culinary concept. Last fall, space became available in the Fishers Station shopping center, which is being redeveloped to include a new Kroger and also houses a Jason’s Deli, and the Tequila Sunrise team decided to capitalize on the growing Fishers market.
The Tequila Sunrise staff hosted a public ribbon-cutting ceremony in the fall attended by local officials and Chamber of Commerce members. Gonzalez says the community response thus far has been positive and hopes to gain a following akin to Brownsburg through a continued commitment to quality cuisine.
The establishment’s modern, minimalistic visual aesthetic, with understated black and silver accents throughout two separate dining areas, was chosen – like everything else about the restaurant – with the customer in mind.
“I want people to feel at home and relaxed, and we thought a contemporary type of look, with neutral colors, would be the right thing to do,” says Gonzalez, adding that the restaurant currently operates with 32 part-time and full-time employees.
While Gonzalez is excited at the possibility of future expansion and would like to eventually see four or five Tequila Sunrise stores throughout Indy, his team’s focus right now is on making their Fishers location the best it can be.
“We want to make sure we’re doing a great job here for the customers before starting to take another step,” he says. “Again, I would like to earn every dollar that comes in here. That makes me happier than having a lot of money in my pocket but not having great results at the restaurant.”
Tequila Sunrise Mexican Cuisine is located at 11653 Fishers Station Drive. Call 317-524-1717 or visit tequilasunrisein.com for more information.
