Photograph by Robert Scheer
Casa Lupe owner Roque Velasco has been in the restaurant business 31 years.
By NATASHA COLLINS
Family-owned and operated, Casa Lupe offers a variety of traditional Mexican dishes served with a personal touch.
"We hope that people feel like they are at home," said Roque Velasco Jr., whose father owns the restaurant. "We are a neighborhood restaurant. We know everybody's name and their families."
Roque Velasco Sr. has been in the restaurant business for more than 31 years and opened Casa Lupe 17 years ago. Velasco has six children, ranging in age from 30 to 12, who all help run the business.
"Everyone works here on and off," Roque Jr. said.
His father learned to cook in a Mexican restaurant in Anchorage. It was during his time in Alaska that he perfected his family's recipes and learned how to run a restaurant.
"I worked in Alaska for four years before I opened my own restaurant in the 1960s," he said.
Valasco can be found working in the kitchen of his restaurant every day. He is the main chef at Casa Lupe and oversees every part of preparing the food.
"I'll make sure there are enough spices in the sauces and things taste just right before I serve it," he said.
Valesco serves the traditional meals of fajitas, burritos and enchiladas on a daily basis. He also adds at least four specials to his menu every day. Some of his specials include red snapper with mango sauce, chicken mole and shrimp quesadillas--all served with rice and vegetables, of course.
A wide variety of margaritas, such as cranberry, melon, peach and strawberry, can be seen adorning the tables of the full dining room. "We make the traditional lime margaritas, but people seem to like the fancy flavors," Velasco said.
The restaurant also offers homemade sangria, a traditional Spanish drink of wine mixed with citrus fruits.
The interaction between people is why Velasco has been in the restaurant business so long, he said.
"It sounds funny, but I really like making people happy," he said. "If someone doesn't enjoy their meal, I think it is my fault, and I will not charge them. It is important to me that people like coming here and enjoy themselves."
Velasco and his family hope to open a new restaurant in the near future. "We would like to have more restaurants in the area that the kids can run," Velasco Jr. said. "This restaurant has been so successful, we are sure another location would do just as well."
The festively decorated room, with colorful piñatas, streamers and Dos Equis signs, seats approximately 60 people and is full during lunch and dinner hours.
"Reservations are not allowed, only a good appetite," Velasco said.
Casa Lupe is located at 671 S. Bernardo Ave., Sunnyvale. Telephone: 739-2900. Hours: Mon.-Fri., 11:30a.m.-2:30p.m. and 5-10 p.m.; Sat., 5-10 p.m.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 5, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.