Today we’d like to introduce you to Edgar Nava
Edgar, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Our humble beginnings date back to 2017. Our initial idea was to serve freshly prepared Mariscos inside of my Uncles Grocery store in Lincoln Heights. We started off we little experience in the restaurant industry and we were mainly catering to the local community that would visit our store to buy groceries. As the years went by word started spreading and our food and customer service started building a loyal following. We started getting creative with the menu to keep our customer interested and found our clientele growing past our neighborhood.
Like every business, you have high moments and low ones. We found ourselves with a tough decision to make. Our rent was being increased to an unreasonable price which led to us finding a new location just a stones throw away. This move would mark our first move into a Brick and Mortar dedicated to our Mariscos concept. The move would also teach us a lot more about the restaurant industry along the way. With a couple of road bumps during our startup we were offered the opportunity to vend a Smorgasburg. This would help us stay relevant and keep us afloat during our start up in our new restaurant. Now almost 2 years into our new journey we have learned that all things come at their given time when the universe knows that you are ready. We are Correas Mariscos & Cocina located in 1917 Zonal Ave Los Angeles Ca 90033. We specialize in Mariscos with an LA touch. On behalf of our Family we welcome you in for to enjoy a freshly prepared lunch!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Some of the struggles that we face along the road when opening our new restaurant were a couple changes that were requested by the health department. Dealing with an unexpected move into our new location we weren’t fully prepared to handle these new modification we had to make. It was a bit of a set back but we managed to get by and when we finally received the green light to open up it was huge weight off our backs and we were ready to welcome in our new customers.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Starting to sell Mariscos back in 2017 I didn’t know too much about cooking. After the first year went by I found my passion and creativity for the kitchen and that’s when things started to take off for me. I started to take a different direction in the style of Mariscos I was serving. One of my first creations on the menu was the Mango Shrimp Ceviche. The idea came from a Mango Pico de gallo that I tasted and that has now became one of our top selling items on the menu. Second creation was a Shrimp Po’Boy Sandwich. I started to gain interest in Southern cooking and my idea behind this sandwich was to combine the idea of a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with a Fried Shrimp Po’Boy. Stepping out of the traditional perception of Mexican Mariscos and bringing a bit of a fusion while still using Mexican ingredients.
What were you like growing up?
I grew up in the same community that I am now invested in with our restaurant. Growing up in this neighborhood I was surrounded by my friends in the neighborhood who became like family to me. Playing ball outside, watching basketball games, movies, playing video games and riding our bikes. We were always looking for the next creative / fun thing to do.
I would express my creativity through music or art. Growing up I was always intrigued by Aunts style of coking. For holidays she would occasionally step out of the traditional holiday dishes that we are accustomed to cooking with recipes that she would come across with from magazines or books. That would eventually spark my interest in cooking as I got older.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://correas-mariscos-cocina.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/correasmariscos/profilecard/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==
- Yelp: https://yelp.to/yFFNUWp9wK
Image Credits
Image credit to
Alex Woods
Instagram: @jacuzzi.water
Robert Haleblian
Instagram:@robert_haleblian
