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Juan Carrillo, Owner of Juan’s Mexican Café & Cantina
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Juan Carrillo stands in front of one of his restaurants, Juan’s Mexican Café & Cantina.
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The cinnamon pancakes at Astronomical Pancake House are amazing.
With three restaurants under his belt and another in the works, local restauranteur Juan Carrillo is living the good life. His success is a result of years of hard work spent under the tutelage of his father—another successful business owner—who opened La Tolteca on Richmond Road in 1989.
Carrillo hails from California, but moved to Williamsburg with his mother and siblings in 1992.
“My father wanted to get us out of California because of the smog, and the neighborhood we lived in was getting rough,” said Carrillo. “He actually meant to go to North Carolina, but found his way to Williamsburg instead. Since then, we’ve all considered it home.”
With a family of his own now, plus three restaurants on the Peninsula to oversee, Carrillo stays busy. But, he always makes time to enjoy his hometown and support local businesses in the process.
His perfect day might go something like this… For breakfast out, Carrillo can’t think of any place he’d rather go than Astronomical Pancake House on Richmond Road.
“The cinnamon pancakes… they are amazing,” he said. “My brother and I went to high school with a lot of the boys there, so I like to support them.”
For a day with the family, Carrillo said his go-to spot is the Historic Area.
“We love going to Colonial Williamsburg,” he said. “We like to go for walks there, grab coffee at Aroma’s and then head over to The Cheese Shop and grab some sandwiches.”
When not at CW, Carrillo and his wife Zofia enjoy watching their kids—ages 8 and 12—play sports. Because they are so active, a lot of their weekends are scheduled around games.
“We spend a lot of time at the WISC with football and baseball, and at one point, gymnastics,” Carrillo said. “My wife also works out there and considers it her second gym.”
After games, Carrillo might take the family to NY Deli or Sal’s by Victor for some Italian.
Before the pandemic, Carrillo and his family enjoyed going to the movies at Movie Tavern or Regal. Now, they find themselves spending more time at their home in Powhatan Secondary or enjoying the outdoors, walking and biking.
“In the summer, we spent a lot of time at the neighborhood pool, Jamestown Beach or on the York River. We are definitely water people,” he said.
On a rare date night, Carrillo and Zofia gravitate to Le Yaca for a glass of wine and dinner or Amber Ox for a craft beer.
“We definitely like to go out to eat and have a good time.”