IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WZMQ) – Carlos Cantina, the city’s beloved Mexican restaurant, has unveiled its ambitious expansion plans for a new location. General manager, Daniel Aranda, shared some exciting details of the upcoming venture, and an upcoming fundraiser that will benefit the students of Iron Mountain High School.
The new Cantina is set to grace a location just opposite the Home Depot on South Stephenson Avenue. The original location will remain operational. The Cantina plans for a remodel with upgrades to its style of cuisine options at the Ludington street location.
The new venue will house a significantly expanded kitchen, while the bar seating capacity will more than double. In a nod to their local roots, the Aranda family business is committed to sourcing financing and contractors from the community. Carey Design Build of Iron Mountain, and First National Bank are proud supporters of the exciting changes.
Carey Design will take the reins on the construction, and Aranda shared when the construction plans are set to begin.
“We have a projection to be in there, hopefully next winter or next fall,” he said. “Just because the building is going to take a little bit to build. Our projection is about 8 months, and we hope to start building late winter or early spring,” stated Aranda.
The stage is set for the construction site, proudly marked with a “coming soon” sign on the side of Stephenson Avenue across from the Home Depot.
The business upgrades are serving to improve the local economy. Aside from bringing on local contractors and keeping the financing local, Aranda looks forward to seeing the employees thrive.
“It will keep jobs in town, and also create more jobs here. A lot of my staff has actually worked for us, that are local, the past 8 or 9 years even. We really appreciate that, and would love to see them grow, and we offer them the opportunity to do so. We run this as a family. My dad is involved a little bit still, he’s getting a little bit older. So my brother Carlos and I operate the business, and we plan to do the same over there,” he shared.
With the new location, and the remodel of the Ludington street Cantina, the family business plans to introduce a wider range of catering options to the city’s culinary scene. Aranda has a vision for the Ludington street location to become more of an authentic Taqueria-style venue, offering tacos or a burrito, or burrito bowls alongside the expanded catering.
In a statement, Daniel Aranda expressed his enthusiasm for the new building, saying, “It’s going to be a little bit nicer, we’re thinking more windows, and more outdoor seating that we don’t have here. Here I seat 130, with the outdoor seating, we’re going to seat around 230.”
Carlos Cantina anticipates the completion of the new location within approximately eight months. This expansion promises to bring a surge of Mexican warmth and flavor to the heart of Iron Mountain, offering an enhanced dining experience to the community.
And speaking of community, Carlos Cantina is actively fundraising for the Iron Mountain High School students. They’ve announced an upcoming fundraiser that will benefit the sophomore class fund.
“Wednesday the 25th of October, we’re doing a fundraiser for Iron Mountain’s sophomore class from 4-8 p.m. The more we sell, the better for them. There’s going to be a percentage of sales that we’ll match and give to them. Some of the class are going to come, and then we’re going to set up a table for them where people can buy raffle tickets and win prizes. We’re also donating a couple gift cards to that,” announced Aranda.
For specials this season, Aranda recommends a special drink with rice milk he calls Horchata. Aranda says it’s with rice milk, rum, and coffee mixed. “It tastes sweet, it doesn’t taste like an alcoholic beverage,” he assured.
To view Carlos Cantina’s current menu, visit:
