Video Transcript: Owner of Margaritas and Inka’s bets on Lakeshore community still under development
Sydney Froelich: With over 4500 residents and a little over 100 restaurants, downtown Syracuse is a competitive place to own a food business. But after owner Alejandro Gonzalez found success in Margaritas Mexican Cantina and Inka’s, he is ready to take a gamble on a Lakeshore community that has yet to arrive.
Alejandro Gonzalez: It’s definitely going to be a different clientele over there, more family-oriented, a little bit of an older crowd.
Sydney Froelich: The new Mediterranean Italian restaurant will stand at Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club, which is currently being reconstructed into a larger Lakeside housing community. The developer says construction for the housing portion will begin in 2027. Gonzalez says that this space will offer something unlike his downtown restaurants.
Gonzalez: This will be something completely different… cozy, quiet, great food, great drinks, more upscale.
Sydney Froelich: As thousands of new residents are expected to reside here in the coming years, President and CEO of Visit Syracuse, Danny Liedka, says the outlook for Gonzalez is promising.
Danny Liedka: It’s not going to be easy, because there isn’t a great amount of population as it stands today. Now, if you fast forward five to eight years, that dynamic will change dramatically, and there’s certainly a lot of competition not far from there.
Sydney Froelich: However, Liedka recognizes many businesses operate seasonally in that area, questioning if a year-round restaurant could face potential challenges before the population comes in. But for Gonzalez, he says this isn’t the first chance he’s taken.
Gonzalez: I started when I was 18 years old as a dishwasher, and then I moved up, progressed, saved my money, took big risks…
Sydney Froelich: The restaurant is yet to be named and will open this upcoming summer, between July and August. Gonzales says he even has three more restaurants in the works with NCC News. This is Sydney, Froelich.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – A Syracuse restaurant owner known for two popular downtown establishments is expanding his business to a lakeshore community that is underway.
Alejandro Gonzalez, Owner of Margaritas Mexican Cantina and Inka’s Peruvian Cuisine, plans to open a new restaurant at the Lakeshore Yacht and Country Club property in Cicero. The project is part of a larger redevelopment effort that developers say could include about 1,400 homes and luxury condos.
“It’s definitely going to be a different clientele over there, more family-oriented, a little bit of an older crowd,” Gonzalez said about the atmosphere being very different from his two downtown locations.
Unlike Margaritas, the Lakeshore restaurant will focus on a quieter, upscale dining experience.
“It’s not going to be easy, because there isn’t a great amount of population as it stands today. Now, if you fast-forward five to eight years, that dynamic will change dramatically,” said Danny Liedka, President and CEO of Visit Syracuse.
As thousands of new residents are expected to live there in the coming years, Liedka said the outlook for Gonzalez’s restaurant is promising since the area will largely depend on how quickly the surrounding community grows.
“I started when I was 18 years old as a dishwasher, and then I moved up, progressed, saved my money, took big risks,” said Gonzalez when mentioning that he is used to taking chances just like this. He says taking risks is what drives his businesses.
Gonzalez said he is even planning to open four additional restaurants this year, including the Lakeshore location.
According to the developer, construction for the housing portion will begin in 2027. However, the yet-to-be-named restaurant will open this upcoming summer between July and August.