Cazuela’s Grill’s second location occupies the space that was formerly Mad Mex at Gateway in the university district. Credit: Beka Cagle | Lantern Reporter
A new Cazuela’s Grill is here to fill the taco-sized hole left in the hearts of students after the closing of Mad Mex in the university district.
Cazuela’s, a Mexican restaurant in Old North frequented by Ohio State students, officially opened a second location on campus Thursday at the former Mad Mex space at Gateway.
Kaleb Fenwick-Miller, a fourth-year in marketing and a manager at Cazuela’s, and Patrizio Martinez, a manager at Cazuela’s, said their team hopes the new location will cater to Ohio State students living and spending time on South Campus who don’t want to venture north to the original location.
“[The new location] has kind of the same vibe as the other location, and we kind of have the same crowd here,” Fenwick-Miller said. “It’s mostly college students that come in and have some drinks and food with their friends.”
Martinez said the restaurant has been serving its takes on authentic Mexican food, including tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, margaritas and complimentary chips and salsa for more than 13 years.
“People are calling it ‘South-zuela’s’ and ‘North-zuela’s’ to tell [the locations] apart,” Martinez said. “It’s kinda funny.”
The food menu served at the Gateway location is almost identical to the menu served in Old North, however, the Gateway location will serve an expanded drink menu, including a wider selection of draft beer and liquor. The design and atmosphere will also remain consistent between the two locations, Fenwick-Miller said.
Like the restaurant’s Old North location, there will be a twice-daily happy hour from 2-6 p.m. and 10-11 p.m. The restaurant also offers daily specials, including Margarita Monday, offering jumbo lime margaritas for $4.99, and Taco Twosday, offering $2 Pacifico beers and $2 tacos.
“The most important thing that brings people here is the happy hour,” Martinez said. “We have happy hour every day, and other places don’t.”
Along with the two campus locations, the restaurant operates two locations in Reynoldsburg and Cambridge, Ohio, as well as three food trucks, Martinez said.
The restaurant owners have plans to continue expanding across campus in the near future, he added, with a slightly different, not yet released concept.
Cazuela’s Grill’s new location will operate during the same hours as the Old North location: 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Monday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Cazuela’s Grill at Gateway is located at 1542 N. High St., and Cazuela’s Grill in Old North is located at 2321 N. High St.
