Joining brothers Eduardo and José Barajas for the ribbon cutting for their new restaurant were, left to right, Wells Chamber members, Lexie Sherman, Tracy Frank, Eduardo’s wife Elizabeth Guzman holding Victoria, Roberto Guzman, the brothers, José’s wife Andrea Garcia, and their son Gael, Luis Rizo, Nicole Rosberg, Brittany Voigt.

Who says dreams don’t come true?

Brothers Eduardo and José Barajas recently realized the culmination of their dreams when they opened their own restaurant on Feb. 1.

Loma Azul Mexican Restaurant is located at 34 First Street SE, in Wells, and is located at the site of the former Wildcats Bar and Grill.

José, 26, and Eduardo, 23, may seem young to own their own restaurant, but the brothers have gained a wealth of experience working at many Mexican eating establishments in the Albert Lea and Austin areas over the last 10 years.

“We moved to the states 15 years ago and when we started working we started at the bottom,” Eduardo says. “We washed a lot of dishes. Eventually we were able to start helping with meal prep. Then, as our English got better, we began taking orders.”

Eduardo shares that his brother’s passion is working in the kitchen.

“He went to chef school while I am the one who really enjoys interacting with people,” Eduardo comments. “We had the opportunity to run 1910 Fresh in Albert Lea two years ago. Doing that helped us realize that we could be a good team together.”

The brothers’ first taste of experience with running a food place really began back home, with their father.

“Our father literally made “street” tacos when he started out,” Eduardo shares. “He had a table he would take right out into the street and make the tacos. Our parents taught us about providing good customer service and eventually their business grew.”

The dream of having their own restaurant came to Eduardo seven years ago.

“We were on the road, driving to Mankato, and we stopped in Wells,” Eduardo recalls. “We were looking for something to eat and there was no Mexican food in town. I joked with José and said maybe we should open a Mexican restaurant in Wells someday.”

That joke became real on Feb. 1, and judging by the smiles on the brother’s faces, they are pretty happy with their decision so far.

“We had very little money and capital to open this place,” Eduardo says. “But we are hard workers. Everything you see here in the restaurant is homemade. When you have no money, you learn how to make everything.”

It took about six months for the brothers to renovate the building they are renting. They installed new flooring, painted and worked on a number of other projects to refurbish the restaurant. And, they did all of this work in their spare time when they were not working at their other jobs.

“Our restaurant is kind of a combination of a fast-food place and a sit-down restaurant,” Eduardo says. “People order their food and drinks at the counter and then they can sit down. We will bring their food to their table and we will clear their table when they are finished eating.”

The brothers did not have their liquor license for their opening, but hope to have it very soon.

“We want to be able to serve margaritas and Mexican cocktails,” Eduardo shares.

He says his parents are pretty proud that their children have opened their own eating establishment.

“We named our place after our father’s place, which is called Loma Azul Taco Shop,” Eduardo says. “We are from the Mexican state of Jalisco. It is where all of the tequila is made. Dwayne, ‘the Rock’ Johnson’s Teremana Tequila is made there.”

Eduardo comments that the tequila is made from the blue agave plant.

“They don’t grow corn, rice or beans in Jalisco. They grow blue agave,” Eduardo remarks. “You will see the blue plants all over the place when you drive through the country. They are everywhere.”

Owning their own place, according to Eduardo, means they can do whatever they want to with their recipes.

“In a franchise restaurant you can’t do that,” he remarks. “We can do whatever we want if we think it will improve the flavor and taste of our food and it allows us to keep making things better. All of our ingredients are homemade and that is the challenge – to make good quality fresh food.”

Customers may be surprised by another food the brothers are offering.

“We love American breakfasts and so Thursday through Sunday from 7-11 a.m. we will be making and serving American breakfast food,” Eduardo says. “I want to give this town what they want and breakfast and Mexican cocktails are two of the things we have heard about.”

After being open for a few days, the brothers are pretty satisfied.

“This is a dream for us. This is making our dream real and that makes us happy,” Eduardo says with a big smile. “And seeing our customers enjoying themselves, that makes us happy too.”