Mexican Restaurant Opens With 'Authentic' Taste

LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Elizabeth Segura, left, manages the new IXTAPA Mexican restaurant in Farmington and her daughter, Vanessa, 16, a Farmington High student, helps. The restaurant is owned by Segura’s mother, who has owned a Mexican restaurant with the same name in Chicago, Ill., for 19 years.
LYNN KUTTER ENTERPRISE-LEADER Elizabeth Segura, left, manages the new IXTAPA Mexican restaurant in Farmington and her daughter, Vanessa, 16, a Farmington High student, helps. The restaurant is owned by Segura’s mother, who has owned a Mexican restaurant with the same name in Chicago, Ill., for 19 years.

FARMINGTON -- Farmington's newest restaurant has the same name and serves the same dishes as a Mexican restaurant that has been in business in Chicago, Ill., for 19 years.

IXTAPA in Farmington is owned by Regna and Cruz Segura, who also own the Chicago store. Their daughter, Elizabeth Segura, manages the local restaurant.

Elizabeth Segura, her husband, Mario Salto, and family moved to northwest Arkansas in 2004, first living in Lincoln and then moving to Farmington. They own a local Farmington business, Mario's Complete Auto Care, 293 E. Main St.

She said she talked her parents into opening a restaurant here to give customers another option for Mexican cuisine.

"I told my mom we should bring the food here because it's different," Segura said. "The taste is different, the way it is prepared is different. Everything is different," Segura said.

All food is prepared on site and she describes the entrees as "authentic Mexican food."

The name of the restaurant comes from an island in Mexico, Ixtapa.

Some of the more popular items include tortas, a type of sandwich, burritos and a super chimichanga, which is a deep fried burrito with sauce and melted cheese on top and served with rice and beans.

Their special salsa is made using a molcajete, which is a rock and stone bowl. The tomatoes and jalapenos are burned and then crushed by the rock in the stone bowl. The sauce is chunky and served warm, compared to a cold salsa, Segura said.

The restaurant uses a photo of a molcajete as its logo.

In addition to its in-house menu, the restaurant caters and delivers meals for a small fee.

It is located at 56 Yukon Place off Main Street and is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday-Sunday. The phone number is 479-267-5023.

Segura admits life is a little stressful since opening the new restaurant a month ago. In addition to the restaurant and the business she and her husband own, they also have four children, a dog, bunny and a bird.

She hopes things will slow down as family members move from Chicago to northwest Arkansas. Her brother already has moved here and her sister will be next. Her parents plan to sell their Chicago store and move to this area to run the Farmington IXTAPA restaurant.

General News on 07/23/2014