It all happened quickly. From signing a lease to opening their doors, it took Caadxi Oaxaca, Snoqualmie’s newest Mexican restaurant, a little more than a month to open its doors.
Started by Francisco Romo and his family, Caadxi Oaxaca (pronounced CAHT-see wa-HAWK-ah) is an authentic Mexican restaurant that specializes in food from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca.
Romo explained that Caadxi is a phrase that means “a little bit of,” so the name translates to “a little bit of Oaxaca.”
During a visit to Snoqualmie from Renton, Romo saw the location which used to belong to Maverick BBQ and had the idea to start a restaurant there. He and his family had thought about opening their own restaurant, so Romo decided that if they didn’t do it now, they would never do it.
“I just happened to ask, they said yes, then we start doing all the paperwork, then we start working on the menu and it happened really fast,” he said. “That’s how everything started, you never know the reason why, just go for it.”
Work on their new space was fast, too. The family gathered and started putting together their recipes into a menu. Once they signed the lease they started remodeling, painting, and decorating their new restaurant.
“We decided to do it even though we never had experience in a restaurant, all we knew was how to prepare the food,” Romo said. “Everything else is new for us. We are learning a lot how to run a business. It’s a lot to learn.”
Caadxi serves traditional, authentic food from the south of Mexico. Romo said it’s different from the type of Mexican food most Americans know.
“We are from the south of Mexico, the state of Oaxaca, and this is traditional food from the south of Mexico, it’s not like the food that you see at most Mexican restaurants,” Romo said. “We try to do it the way we eat back home.”
Some of his favorites include the chile relleno, carne asada, tamales, and molé, one of Oaxaca’s specialties.
Running Caadxi has been a family effort as every staff member is part of the family.
“We all do different parts, but I work up front most of the time and my wife and the rest of the family do the cooking and preparation,” he said. “All our food is fresh, we make everything from scratch.”
It may be their first time running a restaurant but so far, reviews online have been extremely positive. Romo said they have been doing well.
“The good thing about it is when you hear people say ‘this is the best mole I ever had’ or ‘this is the best chile I ever had,’” Romo said. “That’s how you know you can feel good about what you are doing.”
There are still things that Caadxi is working on, like getting a liquor license, so Romo can use his background as a bartender to make some traditional Mexican drinks as well.
“I’m going to make really good margaritas and traditional drinks, too. Something that people here have never had, but we are waiting on a liquor license,” he said.
Caadxi Oaxaca is open weekdays and weekends from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is located at 8030 Railroad Avenue, Snoqualmie. For more information call (425) 434-9587.
