Jesus Fernandez admits that the owners of Habanero’s Steak and Wings on East Tanque Verde Road are a bit nervous about opening their doors in two or three weeks.
It’s the same little butterflies in the belly that Jay Patel felt when he flipped the “open” sign on April 15 at Spice Garden, his new Indian restaurant.
And imagine what was going through the mind of Juan Almanza when he opened his doors on March 21 — less than 24 hours after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered all bars and restaurant dining rooms to close.
“It was really, really hard because they shut everything,” said Almanza, whose El Rustico Mexican restaurant at 2281 N. Oracle Road was born in a food truck that he operated for four years from the Tohono O’odham swap meet before it abruptly closed in mid-March out of social distancing concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic, El Rustico, Habaneros and Spice Garden Indian Cuisine are introducing themselves to a community of diners that can’t take in the full experience of their restaurants.
“We are hoping for the best, but we are also concerned about people not wanting to give us a chance because they never tried it before,” said Habaneros assistant manager Jesus Fernandez, who said they have been encouraged, though, by a slew of phone calls in recent days from people wanting to know more about the restaurant.
Spice Garden owner Patel said he had hoped to open his restaurant in a newly constructed strip plaza near Harkins Arizona Pavilions movie theater in March. The plan was to have a soft opening the first two weeks of March, then a grand opening at month’s end.
“Then this pandemic thing happened. So now I’m having my soft opening,” he said Friday as a handful of takeout orders came in for his tandoor marinated chicken tikka masala bathed in a spicy red cream sauce over fragrant basmati rice.
Patel said he’s viewing his pandemic opening as a prolonged soft opening that’s allowing him to iron out all the kinks of his maiden solo restaurant venture.
Patel, who has a business degree from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and worked in accounting for nearly 15 years, moved to Tucson from Vegas in 2017 when his wife took a job with the VA Hospital. He said he decided months later to open an Indian restaurant in Marana — the town’s first. The nearest Indian restaurant is at Foothills Mall.
Patel has spent over a decade working in his family’s Indian restaurants in Vegas, but this is his first solo venture, he said.
“I think Marana is growing and all Indian cuisines I see are on the Tucson side or the Oro Valley side of town,” he said. “I think Marana was a perfect place, plus I live in this area.”
El Rustico’s chef-owner Almanza said he had flirted with the idea of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant but when he saw the “For Lease” sign late last year at Café Marcel on North Oracle Road, he took the plunge.
“Everything was perfect. I had some savings from the last couple years working. I didn’t have a lot of money,” he said, but he had enough to move in after he and the landlord negotiated a “really nice contract.”
With county approvals in hand, Almanza was ready to fire up the stove and get to work on March 2, but his chef friends urged him to put on the brakes. He didn’t have a fully-formed business plan and the space, which for several years was home to the coffee and crepes restaurant, could use a few tweaks.
So he thought he would continue with his food truck at the swap meet to help pay the bills through March as he found his new rhythm. And then the Tohono O’odham closed the outdoor market as the coronavirus pandemic took hold and Almanza had no choice but to open.
Those first few days were tough, and while business has picked up since, Almanza said he still has slow days.
“It’s still a little hard. The last three days have gone down a little bit,” he said on Friday.
“But I will not care. I think I will make it. It’s going to be hard for sure, but it’s going to be OK. I’m going to be positive.”
Until early April, Habanero’s at 6910 E. Tanque Verde Road was home to China Bamboo Chinese restaurant. Owners Lisa Yin and Armando Gill, who took over China Bamboo late last year, decided to flip the concept to Mexican steakhouse modeled after Gill’s Tubac restaurant Habanero’s.
The restaurant serves traditional Mexican fare including mole poblano alongside grilled rib eye steaks, seafood and lamb dishes.
Photos for April 23: Tucson gets by during Coronavirus Pandemic
Tucson, coronavirus
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Erika Munoz, owner of Seis Kitchen, hands over a bag of meals to Michael Gallagher Carondelet, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, to distribute to other nurses and hospital workers, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Hospital workers wheel in carts full of catered meals donated by Seis Kitchen to Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Kristi Hall, a sixth grade teacher at Desert Sky Middle School, participates in planning a lesson with a fellow teacher on Zoom, at her home on April 17, 2020. Schools in the Vail School District are supposed to open in July due to their year-round school calendar. Plans are being made for the possibility of students returning to the physical classroom.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Bry Kelley, a warehouse assistant, places a pallet filled with food down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
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A pallet of food is placed down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, takes the temperature of a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, talks with a homeless man (whom choose to not give his name) outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, checks on a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Elliott Dumont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., works on a customer's bike on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Elliot DuMont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., far left, helps Ethan Sasz, far right, and his son, Evan, 10, with a mountain bike purchase on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Marcella Montoya waits in her vehicle as general manger David Kessler brings out her order, as Bear Canyon Pizza serving their customers despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Kitchen manger Koa Hoffmann tosses dough while working up a crust for a call-in order as he and few others keep cooking at Bear Canyon Pizza despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Alvaro Enciso, a local artist, works in one of his studios at his home on April 9, 2020. Every Tuesday Enciso travels into the Sonoran desert to post crosses where migrants have died after crossing illegally over the U.S./Mexico border as part of a project he's titled Donde Mueren Los Suenos / Where Dreams Die. With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease his six year project is on hold and instead he works on other artwork at home.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Dolly Spalding works on a pen and ink drawing in her apartment at the Redondo Tower Apartments on April 7, 2020. During her quarantine, Spalding has been creating drawings of all the Greek goddesses. She is collaborating with Emlyn Boyle, an artist from Ireland, and plans to publish a book with Boyle's writings.
