Family expands popular Charlotte restaurant chain with new concept in Lake Norman
Cesar Santillan has expanded his longtime chain of popular Charlotte-area Azteca and Don Pedro Mexican restaurants with a new and more upscale concept near Lake Norman.
Casa Azteca Mexican Grill opened on Feb. 17 along Regency Center Drive, off Interstate 77’s Exit 36 near Hampton Inn & Suites and BJs Wholesale Club.
Azteca and Don Pedro fans will find the same Mexican flavors at the new establishment, but “we wanted to elevate the menu” there, son Justin told CharlotteFive at Casa Azteca on Saturday.
“We took what is essentially that same Mexican flavor and upscaled it to make it that much more interesting and approachable and new for the area.”
He mentioned entrees such as:
▪ Carne Asada: juicy, charcoal-grilled skirt steak with guacamole, roasted onions, grilled jalapeno, rice, beans and salsa ($17 lunch, $24 dinner).
▪ Salmon a la Naranja: prepared with an orange sauce and served with rice and salad ($22).
▪ Enchiladas: rojas or verde, with Monterrey cheese and choice of pollo asado, steak or ground beef ($14).
▪ Tuetanos, three sections of roasted bone marrow, topped with steak, al pastor and grilled chicken ($35).
Grandma’s desserts
The 280-seat restaurant has a charcoal grill for its chicken and steaks, and its cheese wheels; a light-up dinner menu; and a full bar with such specialties as the Cotton Candy Martini ($14).
“We take the cotton candy from a maker (near the bar) and place a big chunk of it in the martini glass,” Justin Santillan said.
Homemade desserts are $7. Several are recipes by Justin Santillan’s grandmother Mona: Tamat de Elote (sweet corn, condensed milk, vanilla); Arroz con Leche (rice pudding with cinnamon); and Raspado de Leche con Cajeta (shave ice and condensed milk, topped with guava).
Cesar Santillan opened his first Azteca Family Mexican Restaurant in 1994 on Woodlawn Road in Charlotte. He later came up with the Don Pedro concept, which has locations on South Tryon Street and in the University area, Gastonia and Pineville.
The closest Azteca Family Mexican Restaurant to Lake Norman is about five miles east of I-77, Exit 18, he said. That’s the Northlake Mall exit.
Aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members help at the restaurants, Justin Santillan said. “My father comes from a very large family,” he said.
Menu ‘presented in a better way’
The Azteca and Don Pedro restaurants offer a “traditional Mexican flavor, atmosphere and look,” he said.
Casa Azteca has “a more upscale, modern look and feel,” Justin Santillan said. “It’s essentially the same traditional flavors, but it looks more presentable. It just looks nicer and is presented in a better way, we think.
“Originally, we were looking at the uptown Charlotte area with an almost faster style,” he said. “But then we saw the opportunity here, the financial opportunity, really, and we already wanted to branch out in this area.”
“It’s something that’s different that isn’t in the area right now,” Justin Santillan said.
Casa Azteca
Location: 140 Regency Center Drive, Mooresville NC 28117
Cuisine: Upscale Mexican
Instagram: @casaaztecamooresville.