The restaurateurs who own Grazers at Maple Tree Place in Williston are launching a neighboring business, Agave. Business partners Sam Handy, Patrick Stewart and Don Johnson expect to open the Mexican restaurant at 28 Walnut Street on November 28, Handy said. Agave will succeed Mexicali Grill & Cantina, which was in business at that address for 11 years.
“We completely gutted the space,” Handy said.
Agave will offer shareable appetizers, nachos, burritos and salads, with a focus on tacos and tequila. “We’re trying to keep it really simple,” Handy said. “But everything we do is going to be really good.”
Agave will source its meats locally, according to Handy, and serve tortillas from All Souls Tortilleria, which produces organic tortillas in the Mad River Valley.
Adam Herschel, who is already on board, will run the kitchen, Handy said. Herschel, who has worked at Firebird Café in Essex, moved to Vermont from California, bringing with him experience in West Coast-style Mexican cooking.
Agave will seat about 100 people, including the spots at the bar. It will almost double the restaurant capacity Handy and co. currently have at Maple Tree Place, where Grazers accommodates about 120.
“I think it’s going to be a good thing,” Handy said. “Maple Tree Place is growing. I definitely think there’s room for another restaurant in there.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Tacos and Tequila”
This article appears in Nov 8-14, 2017.
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How about calling this something other than a “Mexcian” restaurant? There is so much more to Mexican food than tacos, taco salads and burritos that the moniker for a place like this does the term “Mexican” a disservice.
Que viva Mexico Guey! Felicidades.