The new Mi Camino Real restaurant in West Union held a celebratory ribbon cutting on Nov. 23. The ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted by the Adams County Chamber of Commerce. (Photo by Ashley McCarty)

By Ashley McCarty

The new Mi Camino Real restaurant in West Union held a celebratory ribbon cutting on Nov. 23.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted by the Adams County Chamber of Commerce, with Chamber President Dan Ferguson officiating the event.
The restaurant officially opened on Nov. 16, following in the footsteps of sister locations over the years. Back in November of 1998, Owner Alex Mercado opened the first Mi Camino Real in Maysville, Kentuckyy; the business continued to bud in Leitchfield, Kentuckyy, in November of 2002, Mt. Orab, Oio in Nov. 2009, and finally the West Union location in 2020.
Since opening, their restaurant has had no shortage of patronage, the parking lot often filled with members of the community pining for their delicious and authentic cuisine.
“People have responded really well, just how we thought it would be. They have just responded really well, and we’re very happy to be here,” said Mercado.
Mercado said he had always thought West Union was a great town to open a restaurant.
“In the past we never had the chance or opportunity to be in the community. The building became available, and we thought it would be a great time to start it here,” said Mercado.
After acquiring the building, a plethora of renovations had to be performed in order to bring it to restaurant quality.
“We had to change all of the plumbing, had to do all the electric in here; all the electricity in here is all new. The bathrooms, a whole new kitchen with everything, the dining room. That’s why it took us so long with the renovations. We came in with a new electric service because it was not enough. We did everything,” said Mercado.
Along with the delays caused by renovations, other factors played a part.
“It took us longer because of permits, changing the plans, electric. We remodeled for about a year. It took us about a year to complete all the renovations, and then as we were close to opening COVID-19 hit us pretty hard back in March so we had to stop again,” said Mercado.
Now that they’re open, COVID-19 demands that safety protocols be enforced.
“We try to sanitize everything every night and in the mornings. As you can see, we have more distance between the tables; we actually took some tables out, too, for that distance requirement,” said Mercado.
“We try to be as cautious as we can”, he said.
“I just want to thank everybody, the community here. Thank you so much for your business so far,” said Mercado.
Ferguson had some encouraging words for the business owner.
“Given the current climate of everything that’s going on, this is a welcome change of pace to be able to honor and congratulate Alex on his new addition to his Mi Camino Real family. We welcome him to the area, and we wish him the best of luck. We look forward to watching his business grow and be successful,” said Ferguson.