Spanglish

Mexico Meets Michigan in a Fresh Tradition

By Janice Binkert | June 26, 2021

Vicente and Anna Serrano were both raised — he in rural Mexico and she in Traverse City — knowing the value of hard work and expecting nothing to be handed to them. But along the way in their lives, destiny intervened just at the right times to help them fulfill their dreams and aspirations.

The couple met in 2000 when they worked together as cooks in a kitchen in California. They fell in love, got married, and moved to Traverse City in 2003 to start their family and pursue possible business prospects.

Anna had strong connections not only to Traverse City but also to what is today The Village at Grand Traverse Commons, where Spanglish is located. Her maternal great-grandmother and three great aunts had graduated from the nursing school that was part of the old State Hospital, which occupied the grounds at the turn of the century. And her maternal grandmother was an RN and had also worked at the hospital, as had her paternal grandfather, a doctor, and her paternal grandmother, a nurse.

“I never expected that Vicente and I would end up opening a restaurant right here,” she says. “That was pure serendipity.”

Taking advantage of their shared culinary background, the couple began selling tamales at the indoor farmer's market at The Commons. “That was a really good fit,” says Anna, “and we did very well. Later, we did the outdoor market, too. We were able get to know customers and for them to get to know us. At that point, our son was three and our daughter was seven – we were a young, busy family, so that was a good way to start. We saved as much as we could from the market business and other jobs we took on over the years, working toward having a brick and mortar operation someday.”

One of Anna’s jobs then was working at the nearby Montessori School, The Children's House. “They were generous enough to open up the kitchen after hours and let us use it to make our tamales,” she says. “And we got to thinking – we were running a kitchen, but how do we grow? What's our next move? The Commons seemed to be the natural choice, so I approached the Minervinis [developers of The Village at Grand Traverse Common] and sat down and had a meeting with them and said, ‘You know, we're already here. We're doing really well here, and there are a lot of family connections for me here.’

Miraculously, right at that time, Building 69, which had formerly housed The Underground Cheesecake Company, had just become available. It was a little more ambitious, bigger than what we were thinking, but really exciting. We opened Spanglish in June 2013, exactly eight years ago.”

SURVIVING THE PANDEMIC
When their kids’ schools closed initially in March 2020 due to the pandemic, the Serranos decided to do the same with Spanglish. “There were so many unknowns, and I wasn't comfortable with putting my staff at risk or putting the community at risk,” says Anna. “During the two months of being at home with the kids, we started taking steps that would allow us to continue to do what we love to do and do it safely. I redid the website, and we decided to implement online ordering and switched to curbside 100 percent, which we still are.” COVID also meant some procedural changes for Spanglish, but rigid safety and sanitation measures had already been in place from the beginning. “It’s an integrity thing for us to maintain that in all areas and keep the staff and everybody really focused on it. It wasn't a huge extension from where we already were.”

Having offered takeout all along, switching to doing only that was not difficult. “Our food lends itself well to that model,” says Anna.” Of course we had all of the same logistical and production issues that everyone else in the industry had to deal with due to COVID, like sourcing, a broken supply chain, and the increased cost of ingredients. But working with Cherry Capital Foods been great, and we've increased the volume of products that we get locally and regionally.”

Spanglish probably won’t be returning to in-house dining anytime soon — if ever, says Anna. “Our indoor seating capacity is only 11 people anyway. The service system that we now have in place is well designed and works well, while also addressing the issue of parking, which has always been very tight at the Commons. But if people do choose to stay on the grounds, they can take their carry-out food from Spanglish to one of the picnic tables in the grassy plaza across from us or enjoy it at Left Foot Charley winery or Earthen Ales brewery, two of our great neighbors, and order a beverage from them — that's really popular.”

BUEN PROVECHO!
High on the list of customer favorites on the Spanglish menu are — no surprise — tamales, which started it all. They start with soft corn masa steamed in a corn husk, and there are four choices of fillings: Three Sisters (vegetarian, with butternut squash, specially prepared house-made pinto beans, and corn), New World (vegan, with roasted pepitas, roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions and Mexican oregano), Pork (with tomatillos) and Chicken (with chilis).

Tacos, made with soft corn tortillas (gluten free), are the biggest sellers, though, and are offered in pork, beef, chicken, vegan or vegetarian varieties (the latter with sauteed poblanos, red bell peppers, onions, sweet corn, and refried beans, garnished with the same taco toppings that go on the meat versions – shredded cabbage, onions, cilantro, salsa verde, and feta).

Another customer favorite — and Anna’s — is the Cali Bowl (a serving each of rice and pinto beans, topped with avocado, tomato, onion, cilantro, feta cheese, and a scoop of sour cream). Customers can also opt to add a protein to the bowl. Tostadas (crispy corn tortillas with refried pinto beans, your choice of protein, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and a big handful of crunchy cabbage) are a refreshing and especially popular choice of guests in the warmer months.

Spanglish makes its two salsas from scratch, and customer demand for them is so high that they are now available to purchase by the pound. “Our classic is salsa verde, which is mild, and we serve it alongside almost everything we make, but we have a salsa roja, too, which is spicier,” says Anna. “They are both really delicious. A lot of places use canned tomatoes or canned tomatillos and make their salsa, but we roast fresh tomatoes and steam fresh tomatillos, which our staff then peel by hand. In the summer, we go through about 600 pounds of tomatillos a week!”

Then there are the tortas — i.e., sandwiches. “They started out as a special, but people loved them so much that we put them on the menu,” says Anna. “We get ciabatta rolls for them from Common Good bakery, butter them, and grill them.” Choose from the Carnitas Torta (house-made jalapeno mayo, roasted pork, cabbage, tomatoes, onion, and cilantro) or the Veggie Torta (refried pinto beans, sautéed poblano, red bell peppers, onions, and sweet corn, topped with queso and jalapeño mayo).

To accompany these and other tempting menu items, Spanglish has quite an extensive list of beverages, including limonada and iced coffee. “We use Higher Grounds coffee and put some cinnamon and nutmeg in it and cool it and then add ice and milk,” says Anna. “And at the end of last summer, we purchased a machine that makes slushies out of the limonada and the iced coffee.” A variety of Mexican sodas like Topo Chico, Mexican Coke, Fanta, and Jarritos round out the list.

AUTHENTICITY DEFINED
“Vicente is the head chef, leading our kitchen staff and always making sure everything is consistent, which is the hardest thing. Owning his own restaurant was something that he had dreamed of doing his whole life, and despite adversity and setbacks, he persevered — he’s really an incredible person. He and I feel that authenticity is important, and I don't mean that in a way of saying that we're authentically Mexican. What we are is authentically Spanglish. Our food evolved from us — from taking what was available here and making it close to something that was familiar to Vicente and his heritage. He's not copying anybody else. It’s his version of it.”

Anna gives a big shout-out to the Spanglish staff, many of whom have been on board for years: “They are wonderful, and they work really hard. We acknowledge that by paying them well and taking care of them. We offer a simple IRA to our full-time employees, and this year we started offering to pay part of the cost for any of them who want to get a YMCA membership. And I also want to emphasize that we're really grateful to the community for its ongoing support and the loyalty of our customers. We don’t take that lightly. Tourists are always welcome, but it’s Traverse City and this region that has kept us going all these years.”

Spanglish was the first restaurant in northern Michigan to get a Green Restaurant certification. “It was just a way to communicate who we are, by getting credit for what we were already doing,” says Anna. “For one thing, we work with Bay Area Recycling — they pick up our compost and help us get all of our compostable takeout containers. And we don’t waste anything. At the end of the night, we have only one bag of garbage. I focused on botany and environmental science in college, and being environmentally conscious is just how I move through the world.

"And Vincente is on the same page, having known lean times growing up. We both believe in not buying things you don't need, and fixing rather than replacing, and coming up with new uses for things. All of our cooking and refrigeration equipment was purchased used. And the building we are in here was built in 1892, so even that’s been recycled a few times! Our location is important to me, too — with fresh air and greenery around us. It's really good for us here in so many ways.”

Spanglish is located at 1333 Yellow Dr., in Traverse City, (231) 943-1453. Open Tuesday through Saturday for online, phone or in-person ordering and curbside pickup. See the full menu at spanglishtc.com.