Eddie Cerda could have retired, but instead, he decided to open a Mexican sports bar and restaurant with his wife, Megan.
After six months of construction, on Friday afternoon the bar at Cerda 7 Cantina y Comida opened on Main Avenue in the former Francisco’s building.
“Having the opportunity to be our own bosses and not have to work for anybody, that was our goal, that was our dream,” Megan Cerda said.
The bar will be open this week offering tequila-based drinks and Mexican and domestic beers. The kitchen will open soon, and offer items such as Mexican-style wings, tamales, fajitas, enchiladas and street tacos.
The two love entertaining, so they also plan to offer salsa dancing on Wednesdays, karaoke and dancing on Thursdays and Fridays, and a DJ on Saturdays. Sundays at the bar will be dedicated to football, and there are TVs installed around the room.
The bar is patterned a bit after the couple’s tastes and what they felt was lacking along Main, Eddie said.
“I, personally, like to go out, go to the bars and go dancing ... It was just something that just came naturally for me to do,” Megan said.
Cerda 7 joins a restaurant and a clothing shop in the building that was home to Francisco’s Restaurante y Cantina for 46 years, until 2014.
The two researched opening a bar in Farmington, Megan’s hometown, but after discovering the prohibitive cost of buying an existing liquor license – between $500,000 to $1 million, they started looking for a space in Durango, he said.
Eddie was walking down Main Avenue about six months ago, and he had stopped to look at a vacant space, formerly home to the Steaming Bean Coffee Co. This led to a conversation with real estate agent John Wells, who suggested that he consider a space in Francisco’s.
When Eddie called Megan to ask her opinion, she recalled saying: “I already know what it looks like, take it right now.”
The two cash-funded a remodel that included taking out a wall, putting in new flooring and upgrading the prep kitchen to a full kitchen.
Both bring strong business backgrounds to their new venture. Megan has a degree in business and most recently worked for Clayton Homes. Before that, she was a branch manager for Enterprise, the car rental company. Eddie spent 15 years as a regional manager for Aaron’s, a rent-to-own furniture store and owned a successful bar in Chicago.
The Cerda 7 will be open 11 a.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. It will be closed Mondays.
The kitchen will serve food after 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday to offer an alternative to Denny’s, Megan Cerda said.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
