Since chef Juan González and his wife, farmer Megan Strom, opened their Mesa Agricola Mexican restaurant in Escondido on Aug. 2, González has been a steady presence in the kitchen, preparing all of his guisados stews from scratch and hand-pressing each tortilla.
But now, the couple is struggling to keep the popular taqueria open after her husband was seriously injured in an accident last week at the farm where they live in Valley Center.
After being flown to the hospital by helicopter and emergency treatment, he is now home recovering from chemical burns to his eyes. Doctors hope his vision will be fully restored in time.
“It’s been a challenging week, but we are feeling very grateful about how things are progressing,” Strom said, in an email Thursday. “We are just waiting for the wound to heal completely to be able to assess his vision. It’s still fairly blurry, but doctors are very optimistic that it will return to normal.”
While there’s good news on the health front, it’s still touch and go for their new restaurant, which relied heavily on González’s leadership, cooking expertise, recipes and long hours of daily labor.
“The largest challenge at this point is just keeping the doors of the restaurant open,” Strom said.
A selection of guisado tacos and burritos with house-made tortillas at Mesa Agricola restaurant in Escondido. (Lauren di Matteo)
To provide a steady stream of income while her husband recovers, Strom is asking customers and community members to stop in for tacos and burritos, purchase the guisados by the pint for take-home meals and to also consider buying gift cards for future use once González is able to return to work.
“As a new business, we are pretty vulnerable financially and the more people that come through the door or buy gift certificates will allow us to have a stability to focus on getting Juan back to 100%,” she said.
Meanwhile, one of the couple’s biggest fans, Callie retaurant chef-owner Travis Swikard has offered to donate $5 from every Aleppo Chicken dish he sells from now through Nov. 11 to González and Strom. The Aleppo chicken has been one of Callie’s top-selling dishes since Swikard opened his Michelin Bib Gourmand-rated restaurant in East Village in 2021.
Mesa Agricola duo open farm-to-table taqueria in Escondido
Located at the corner of Seventh Avenue and South Escondido Boulevard in Escondido, Mesa Agricola restaurant is an affordably priced taqueria de guisados.
Guisados are regional Mexican stews and braises made with animal proteins, seafood and vegetables in slow-cooked creamy sauces and richly flavored broths. The stews are served on house-made flour and corn tortillas and feature locally grown, farm-fresh vegetables.
Originally, the couple hoped to open a fine-dining restaurant, but changed their mind when they found a fully outfitted quick-service restaurant space in Escondido with a commissary-style kitchen they could use for catering. Instead they opened the affordable neighborhood farm-to-table taqueria which has been building a steady clientele.
Mesa Agricola’s married co-founders, chef Juan González and farmer Megan Strom, inside their Mesa Agricola restaurant in Escondido in early August. (Pam Kragen – The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“I’m waiting to know more about medical bills and what level of coverage we will have, so I don’t want to take any donations unless we find out that the bills will be unmanageable and I’m just praying that that is not the case,” she said.
Learn more about Mesa Agricola at instagram.com/mesaagricola.