If there is one thing about the restaurant Señor Fish in downtown Los Angeles, it is that it offers a very homemade Mexican-style seafood menu at still affordable prices; and it is also adopted to any palate, since all its dishes are accommodated to the taste of vegans since the meat is replaced by tofu and vegetables.
What people ask for the most are the grilled or breaded fish tacos, carne asada and seafood burritos, quesadillas and enchiladas; and of course, the fish ceviche.
And while prices have gone up a lot with inflation everywhere, Mr. Fish is still a nice and tasty place to eat without staying penniless.
Its owner Adolfo Enrique Ramírez Romo says that he never thought of having a restaurant, but today he has four Mr. Fish in Los Angeles, for whom he is fighting after the blow that the covid pandemic hit them-19.
“My dream is to lift up those Mr. Fish who have not been able to recover after the economic impact of the pandemic”.
But he remains optimistic and hopeful of that the quality of the food and the good treatment of its staff to the client make them reactivate to the pre-pandemic times.
Adolfo Enrique was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and arrived in Los Angeles at 5 years old.
He was a childhood friend who n invited him to be a partner in a Chinese food restaurant in the Highland Park neighborhood where he grew up.
“I worked there and was a partner. My brother Jimmy was the manager,” he recalls.
Knowing the food industry, he says that the love for restaurants was born.
“Although the truth is, I never thought I would dedicate myself to that.”
But already in love with work in a restaurant, he ended his association in the Chinese restaurant and decided to open a Mexican restaurant in Highland Park, the neighborhood where he grew up.
“At that time, I used to go to Baja California a lot and I really liked the Ensenada and San Felipe type tacos. I decided that I would open a restaurant to sell that type of tacos”.
That was how in 1984 the first Mr. Fish was born in Highland Park. “Then the menu expanded, but we started with the fish tacos.”
Already excited with the success he was having, he says that he had ten Mr. Fish in Los Angeles County. “What’s more, I opened the restaurant El Zócalo in the city of Alhambra with a bar and Latin music, but later I had to close it.”
He also realized that managing ten restaurants was quite complicated; and then when the owners of the first Señor Fish , saw the success he was achieving, they tripled his rent. “I couldn’t go on and I closed it.”
Adolfo Enrique currently has four Señor Fish, one in Eagle Rock, another in South Pasadena, one more in Echo Park and the Mr. Fish in the center on Main street and Second street.
“Someone who helped me Much to the rebound in sales a few years ago was Jonathan Gold, a late food critic, who by giving me several reviews and articles in the Los Angeles Times, caused people from different parts of the state to come to eat at the restaurant. I was queuing up to get in.”
The restaurant owner says that the covid-19 It has dealt a tremendous blow to sales.
“Especially Mr. Fish from the center because most of the clients are workers from the City, from the courts, from the federal building Ronald Reagan of the police; and when the pandemic broke out, everyone went home to work, and they still haven’t fully returned to their offices.”
Mr. Fish is highly sought after by bureaucrats to eat lunch at noon, but when in March 1984, the health crisis, Adolfo Enrique was forced to close it on weekends.
“We no longer have Happy Hour. I had to cut staff to survive and not close. In the Mr. Fish downtown, we had like 19 employees. We have been left with three: the chef Ramón Ávila, Arminda Sánchez and Nohemí Lizárraga”. Arminda and Nohemí have had to learn to do everything, kitchen and box.
“I have to admit that the staff has helped me a lot to keep us open. They are good, faithful and the best”.
The Mr. Fish who has defended himself the most is the one from Eagle Rock. “It is based in a community that is very good, and we have a patio where people felt comfortable going during the pandemic.”
Today, Adolfo Enrique employs 50 workers in their four restaurants Señor Fish.
“I also have two restaurants in Little Tokyo, Far Bar and Sake Dojo”.
To your 38 years, the restaurateur says that his dream of making a franchise with Mr. Fish is ruled out.
“I just want to lift up those who are down in sales, and see if I can finish a bar on Echo Park that I had in plans since before the pandemic”.
When asked what advice he would give to someone who wants to open a restaurant, he says don’t open it because it’s not a good time.
“The percentage of restaurants that go bankrupt in the first year is very high. I have seen it with the restaurants that are around me in the center. And it is that this area, near the Town Hall, is more for working during the day. There is no action at night”.
One of the plans of the Adolfo Enrique restaurant to give life to the Señor Fish from downtown Los Angeles, is renting it out for events on weekends and nights.
“I want to turn it into a center for events and parties. It is a spacious, beautiful place and we offer a valet parking service so you do not have parking problems”.
The Mr. Fish of downtown Los Angeles is at 150 S. Main St. Los Angeles CA 69221013. It opens from Monday to Friday, from 7 in the morning to 9 at night. The phone is 213- 213-69221013.