For the past 13 years, Azteca Mexican Restaurant has been a go-to eatery in the heart of Columbia for the community.
Owner Osiel Garcia said he’s been working in restaurants for 34 years since he was 16 years old and takes pride in making sure that everything that comes out of the Azteca kitchen is just right.
“We want to keep the quality high. I always check the quality because we want the customers to get exactly what they (ordered) from the menu,” he said.
Garcia came to Mississippi from Georgia and worked in Laurel before deciding to open Azteca at 1003 U.S. 98 in Columbia. He said he enjoys being a part of the community in Marion County and wants to do his part to make it a great place to live and visit.
“We’ve been here with the community 13 years, and we try to do our best to always do a better job here and make everyone in the community happy,” he said. “We try to build this restaurant to be the best that we can. We can always do better, but we try to have quality service and good food.”
One of the things Azteca and its more than 20-member staff prides itself on is its endless lunch combos.
“We have pretty good lunch specials every day from 11 (a.m.) to 2:30 (p.m.),” Garcia said. “We also have some drink specials like two for one. We’re fixing to have party margaritas, too.”
Garcia said the staff makes a concerted effort to go out of its way to make eating at Azteca Mexican Restaurant a good experience for all of its customers.
“To us it’s real important to have good customer service,” he said. “I’ve been training everybody here to be friendly, to provide a good service, and we have everybody work to keep it clean most importantly.”
For Garcia, there isn’t a single aspect of running Azteca that he doesn’t enjoy.
“This is my team here. I like to be working in the kitchen and see that everything is OK. I get out every morning and make sure everything from the kitchen to the tables is the way it’s supposed to be,” he said. “I really enjoy working in the kitchen. I can’t see myself doing something else.”
Garcia said cooking has been a family passion ever since he can remember and he comes from a long line of excellent cooks. Garcia said a successful day at Azteca goes beyond making sure everything is coming out of the kitchen right, though.
“I want people to come in to eat and go home happy,” he said. “Then I want everyone from the cooks to the waiters to be working good together with everybody on the same page.”
Azteca also offers to-go orders and can be reached at (601) 444-0223. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. during the week and stays open until 10:30 on the weekends.
Pictured Above: Azteca Mexican Restaurant owner Osiel Garcia, left, and his son, Osiel Garcia Jr., take pride in making their customers’ dining experiences the best possible. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
