Chamber Member of the Week: Real Hacienda
Real Hacienda Mexican Restaurant has been a constant in the Owensboro food scene for nearly two decades. The establishment offers some of the freshest Mexican dishes and takes great pride in providing quality service.
Ortiz first entered the restaurant business with his father in 1995 when they opened Guadalajara Restaurant in Tennessee. After a year with his father, he ventured into Owensboro and opened La Fiesta in the old Wendy’s on South Frederica that sat adjacent to Denny’s.
Exponential growth propelled Ortiz to rebrand and relocate to Southtown Boulevard in the current Wasabi location, where he opened the first Real Hacienda in May 2003. More success led the group to open a KY-54 location behind Autozone.
Both restaurants quickly outgrew their spaces, with the KY 54 location moving to its present space in 2010 and the Southtown location moving to its current home on South Frederica.
Ortiz attributes the franchise’s long-standing success to the community’s support, quality employees, and its product.
“It takes good food, fair prices, a nice atmosphere, and excellent customer service to succeed in the restaurant industry, and that’s what we strive to do,” Oritz said. “Those things, along with a great staff and community support, have truly blessed us.”
He added that his manager at the Frederica location has been with him for more than 24 years, while the manager at the KY-54 location is approaching 18 years with the restaurant. He also considers himself blessed to call Owensboro and Daviess County home.
“This really is the greatest community,” Oritz said. “It’s the perfect place to raise a family. It’s large enough to have everything you want, and still small enough to have a hometown feel. The river, the sports, the food – it doesn’t get much better than Owensboro.”
Ortiz and the Real Hacienda family most recently distribute nearly 4,000 complimentary meals during the onset of the pandemic. Humble to the core, Ortiz was reluctant to shed much light on the efforts, but said he’s grateful he could simply give back.
Real Hacienda also offers several levels of catering, featuring a plethora of sides to compliment taco and fajita bars. One of their claims to fame was when they catered a charity golf outiing sponsored by country star Vince Gill.
They also added a food truck in 2016, typically averaging between 450 and 470 outtings per year. Ortiz said the food truck is great for individuals and companies that arent’ allocated long enough lunches to leave the premises.
To learn more about Real Hacienda, visit their website here or search them on Facebook.
By John Kirkpatrick The Owensboro Times