Authentic Mexican restaurant comes to Brecksville

by Kathleen Steele Gaivin

The long-awaited Blue Habanero Street Tacos & Tequila opened downtown Sept. 22 with fresh authentic Mexican food and signature drinks.

According to manager Alex Figueroa, the restaurant at 8934 Brecksville Rd. has been well received by the community. He said the restaurant seats 90 to 100 people. Blue Habanero is also available for parties and off-site catering.

The restaurant is the second location for owner Rafael Ayala. The Mexican native opened Blue Habanero Street Tacos & Tequila on Detroit Avenue in Cleveland’s Gordon Square in 2019 and quickly became “Best Mexican Restaurant 2019” by Cleveland.com.

Figueroa said the meals can seem a little pricey, ranging from $13 to $22, but the portions are worth the price. The ingredients are fresh, he said, in the entrees well as the drinks, including freshly squeezed juices in Blue Habanero’s signature margaritas. The hand-pressed corn tortillas are made fresh each day.

“Everything in there is fresh,” he said.

This is Ayala’s second restaurant, but he is not new to the business. His family, which emigrated from Guadalajara, Mexico when Ayala was a teenager, owns and operates a chain of local Mexican restaurants – Tres Potrillos – with locations in Beachwood, Fairlawn and Medina.

Blue Habanero Street Tacos & Tequila is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. For more information, call 440-630-9499. ∞