This is the second interview in our third season of our podcast series, created in partnership with DeKalb High School advanced Spanish students. These talented students worked with the DeKalb County History Center to contact business owners, create questions, and conducting the interviews in Spanish. Each group focused on an owner of a Mexican restaurant to compliment the History Center’s exhibit “Food: Gathering Around the Table.” While the interview is in Spanish, below is an English translation.

A special thank you to the students for all of their work, their teachers – Claudia Zempoalteca Amador and Monica Luna, project coordinator Carolina Velandia Hernandez, and District 428. 

This project was made possible by generous grants from Illinois Humanities and Healing Illinois. 

This interview is with Olivia Agustin owner of DeKalb’s La Salsa restaurant.  

Olivia Agustin- La Salsa Restaurant

Carlos  00:00

Hello, my name is Carlos Argüelles Amador. Today, I am here  to interview the owner of La Salsa restaurant. I’m from DeKalb, Illinois at DeKalb High School, and today I’m meeting, with 

Olivia Agustin  00:17

My name is Olivia Agustín.

Carlos  00:19

Can you tell us how to spell your full name?

Olivia Agustin  00:27

O L I V I A  A G U S T I N  

Carlos  00:34

I want to start asking you questions about your history and how you started your business. To begin with, can you tell me where you are from?

Olivia Agustin  00:51

We are from Veracruz, Mexico.

Carlos  00:54

OK, there are many, many people from Veracruz, right, yes?  A lot of people? How did your business start?

Olivia Agustin  01:03

We started in 2006 thanks to some friends of mine who helped us.

Carlos  01:14

Ok, so they’ve been in this [restaurant] business for a long time. 

Olivia Agustin  01:19

Yes, 

Carlos 01:20

What led you to open this business?

Olivia Agustin  01:26

Well, more than anything, they inspired us to start that business. We like to serve people.

Carlos  01:42

How long have you been in business?

Olivia Agustin  01:53

From 2006 until now –  about 20 years plus

Carlos  02:01

Where was your first location?

Olivia Agustin  02:03

My first location? Well, it’s a bit of a story because this business started here in this place where we are now. It was here for about three, three or four years. Then, we went to another location where we had a store and a restaurant – that’s where it all started. And we were there for 16 years, 17, but then it was knocked it down. So, we returned to the place where the business started.

Carlos  02:39

Oh, and why did you choose that location?

Olivia Agustin  02:45

The second one? Well, we decided where there were more Latinos so that the store, the restaurant would be closer, and it would be closer for the Latinos, for the Mexican store and the restaurant.

Carlos  03:01

And for people wondering, where are you located now?

Olivia Agustin  03:08

We are in front of NIU University and the address is 900 B Lucinda.

Carlos  03:18

Do you prepare food for special events – parties, concerts?

Olivia Agustin  03:31

Yes, there are occasions when people come and order food for the holidays. Or they have their small gatherings here for students.

Carlos  03:46

Well, moving on to the food,  please tell us what do you offer in your restaurant, tell us about your menu?

Olivia Agustin  03:56

Well, people like everything, they like the mole, the ribs in dried chile, tamales, chiles, stuffings, and the students come for the tacos, tortas, burritos.

Carlos  04:15

So you have a lot of variety,  a little bit of everything. What are your best-selling dishes, the ones that people love the most?

Olivia Agustin  04:25

The mole is very popular. The ribs. So the chile, piquín, the rib in morita chile, the stuffed chiles are also very popular, the tamales are also very popular.

Carlos  04:50

Yes, in your opinion, what is your specialty? What is your best dish?

Olivia Agustin  05:07

What will it be? They are all delicious. Yes, because the people of Veracruz know the rib in chile morita is very popular and the mole are two strong dishes that people know and like.

Carlos  05:43

Do you have special dishes because I’ve heard that there are certain days that you  have like a special dis, a chicken broth or pozole or something like that?

Olivia Agustin  05:58

Yes, on weekends we often have carnitas. What else will it be, people like tamales very much, they like tamales.

Carlos  06:16

On the subject of customers, what kind of customers come to your restaurant? Are they only Hispanic? Are they American?

Olivia Agustin  06:26

We have everything, everything, a little bit of everything.

Carlos 06:29

So it does catch everyone’s attention. And what do you like about your customer?

Olivia Agustin  06:48

Well, more than anything we like them to come and feel like family, that they arrive and we all treat them the same, like they feel they are at home.

Carlos  07:05

Have you had any kind of challenges in their restaurant?

Olivia Agustin  07:17

Well, the basics, when a person doesn’t like something, we solve it and but it’s something for us, it’s normal.

Carlos  07:32

It’s not something common?

Olivia Agustin  07:35

No, no

Carlos   07:39

That’s good. In the time of Covid? What did you do? How did you adapt to that?

Olivia Agustin  07:47

Well, we made people feel confident in the aspect that you know that the tables had to be set apart and that the customer felt good.

Carlos  08:05

Do you have any plans in the future? Thinking of adding as technology? You see, you see that at McDonald’s they have screens where they can choose their order. do you plan to do something similar in the future?

Olivia Agustin  08:22

Fo now we like the system we have. There are times when we go to places and we don’t know so much about technology. I want people to feel comfortable and to feel good. For me it is the most important thing that people feel good,  and that we can help them.

Carlos  08:47

So, you want to leave it like that?

Olivia Agustin  08:53

Yes, more family oriented 

Carlos  08:54

More family oriented, ok. Would you like to add on to your businesses e.g. a store, a butcher shop,

Olivia Agustin  09:04

Well, at the moment we like the restaurant. We like what we do and you know that when you have only one business you can serve it well. And there are times when you have several businesses, sometimes you can’t  pay attention to all of them.

Carlos  09:24

Do you want to have more branches, for example more than more restaurants like this, for example, one in Cortland, or in Aurora?

Olivia Agustin  09:39

If the moment and the occasion and the opportunity were to lend itself, we would gladly do it.

Carlos  09:46

It would be nice not to have more. Is there anything you want to change about your restaurant? 

Olivia Agustin  10:01

I think I feel good and when customers come, they feel like family, they feel good. And for me it is the most important thing that they feel good with us. 

Carlos 10:17

So the customers,

Olivia   10:22

Many people come and we don’t just act like ok, you are a customer and I attend you, and you eat. Sometimes you have conversations, and you know the people so people think that is why they also follow us because they feel like family.

Carlos 10:44

Yes, it is important that they feel welcome. Is there something else you want to share about your restaurant? Anything about your experience in DeKalb something you want to add?

Olivia Agustin  11:06

First of all, I thank the customers and the Hispanic community and all from different places who have supported us. Thanks to them we are here to serve them.

Carols  11:25

In the future. What would be your dreams? 

Olivia Agustin  11:38

Well, keep adding more things on the menu for people. There are times when people tell us we would like them to make other others such as stews, or can we make them this one thing. [Maybe] in the future we are going add different things [to the menu]

Carlos  12:02

 Well, I think that with this we end the interview. Well, Mrs. Olivia, thank you very much for giving us your time to let us come to your restaurant.

Olivia Agustin  12:15

Thank you very much to you and the teacher and thank you for giving me the opportunity and it is the first time I did something like this. I did it because I want you to be something, something that move students move forward and like you. And this is the first time you are doing it and you are doing it well! 

Olivia Agustin  12:45

Well, thank you very much and thank you very much, thank you very much

Carlos  12:57

Ok, let’s ask an additional question: your best-selling dish is mole. Can you tell us what that mole has, why they are sold and what is their process?

Olivia Agustin  13:09

The best-selling dish is mole. People like it because it is a long process, it has to be prepared, it has three types of chiles and it has a lot of seasonings. What else can I tell you – there are many spices that have to be processed. For that seasoning, yes. So to make to make the mole has it takes time, not just to do it.  It is a process that has to be carefully done with all the things because if you do things quickly they can burn or the mole can be bitter. The process can last up to one day or two days to make. To do things all calmly so that it comes out delicious

Carlos 14:21

Thank you very much

Olivia Agustin  14:22

 Thank to you.