(828) 526-0173 | [email protected] | Copyright 2024 – All Rights Reserved.
Recipes From Their Home
Written By: Deena Bouknight | Issue: July 2023
An abiding friendship powers both of the Los Vaqueros Mexican Restaurants – in Highlands at 30 Dillard Road (next to the Farmer’s Market)and in Toxaway, at 9 Toxaway Falls Drive.
A friendship, hard work, dedication, and a stellar menu have resulted in success for the two Los Vaqueros restaurant locations: one in Highlands and the other in Toxaway.
“My business partner, Rigoberto Zendejas, who goes by Rigo, and I met when we were just teenagers working together as dishwashers in a large restaurant in Franklin,” said Ivan Soto. “We love the mountain because it reminds us of home in Mexico, where we were born and raised until we were 14 years old. And we love the quiet towns of Western North Carolina. We feel very happy to be part of the wonderful mountain communities.”
Sotos added that while working together, he and Rigo began discussing future plans and learned that they both held a passion for the restaurant industry.
“I remember the day I said, ‘Hey Rigo, I think we should start our own restaurant,’ and he said, ‘That’s a good idea; let’s do it.’”
While the restaurants did not come to fruition for another 10 years, Sotos pointed out: “We love working in the restaurant industry, and that has been the key to our success (with Los Vaqueros). We especially love the support we get from our customers – both tourists and locals. They know they can count on us to be here every day to greet them and to enjoy the food we cook from scratch. In fact, we cook every single thing at our restaurants from scratch … everything is made to order and is as fresh as it gets.”
Some of the owners’ family recipes on the Los Vaqueros menus are the homemade Carnitas and the “delicious” Mexican Rice and Refried Beans – “some of the best you will ever try.” Other “favorite” items are the Fish Tacos, Fajitas, Diablo Tacos, and more.
“Our customers tell us it’s not easy to decide what to order because it’s such a big menu. But we are always listening to our customers and we want to offer them the best food possible. And our goal is to regularly come up with different dishes.”
The two locations of Los Vaqueros are in Highlands at 30 Dillard Road (next to the Farmer’s Market) and in Toxaway, at 9 Toxaway Falls Drive. A plus regarding the Toxaway location is that diners can also enjoy a view of Toxaway Falls. Restaurants are open from 11:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. seven days a week.
