By Taylor J. Hale
Staff Writer

PLOVER – Prepare your appetites and hot sauce collections, Plover is getting a new Mexican restaurant. El Molcajete, located off Meridian Drive in the Crossroads Commons area, will open its doors to the public in mid-July.

“This is my first venture into owning a business,” explained Noe Benavidez Reyes, owner of the establishment along with his wife, Miledys. “We wanted to do something nice and something you don’t see much in other Mexican restaurants.”

El Molcajete will feature an eye-catching interior, along with authentic Mexican cuisine starring recipes from Benavidez Reyes’ mother. Amish wagon wheels and aged wooden barrels will line the bar and dining area, centered on a hand-made salsa bar that will feature 10 homemade salsas and guacamole.

El Molcajete will be located at 1160 Meridian Drive, in the Crossroads Commons area. (Taylor Hale photo)

“The salsas will all be fresh, and people can try whatever they like,” Miledys Benavidez Reyes said.

Noe Benavidez Reyes and his wife are longtime Portage County residents. Benavidez Reyes worked at El Mezcal in Stevens Point since 2005. He is related to the owners of the Mexican hotspot.

The new entrepreneur decided he wanted to open a restaurant when he was approached by his longtime friends to join in on a business endeavor.

“Friends of ours own Mexican restaurants in Virginia and South Carolina, and they asked [Noe] to help open one down there,” Miledys Benavidez Reyes explained. “When they came up here to talk about it, they were like, ‘How many Mexican restaurants are in Stevens Point?’ We thought, not many, and the plan moved here.”

The couple decided to spearhead the project with the support of their business-savvy colleagues and started work on the restaurant in 2018.  El Molcajete will offer authentic Mexican cuisine along with homemade salsa and “customizable” guacamole.

“We hope to get a guacamole cart, and people can pick what ingredients they want in it, and we will make it right in front of them at their table,” Benavidez Reyes said.

El Molcajete is located at 1160 Meridian Drive. Follow the Portage County Gazette for an exact opening date and updates on El Molcajete.

Contact Taylor J. Hale at [email protected] with Portage County news and information.