Cancun Mexican Restaurant:
Platos Picantes
by Michelle Troutman

"I just work and focus on my family -- make sure they have a tortilla on the table tomorrow," says Hector Fuentes, owner and manager of Cancun, his speech occasionally spiced with American slang.

Growing up in La Piedad, Michoacán in central Mexico, four hours north of Mexico City and an hour and a half south of Guadalajara, he was the second of seven brothers and sisters. "I remember when I was a little kid, and my father, he had to work all day long for us to have a decent meal, a little bit of food at home." His mother sold ice cream and boiled peanuts, while he and his brothers worked on farms to help provide for the family.

He was one of the only ones in his family to attend a technical college, the Colegio Nacional Educación Pública (The National College of Public Education), where he learned how to turn strawberries into jelly and other aspects of cooking and food processing. "We learned in that school how to kill a pig and process it -- ham, bacon, everything."

Earning only 25 dollars a week, after graduation in 1993, he came to the U.S., where his father, a brother, and uncle were running a restaurant in Georgia. The degree quickly helped him land an H1B Visa, a permit for immigrants working in specialty jobs, enabling them to apply for citizenship.

On the job, Fuentes learned everything from dishwashing to cooking to management. Now 35, by age 24, he was part owner of his first restaurant with his father and one of his brothers, managing it for three years before opening a second one in 2001. With money saved and loans, five years later, he and his brother decided to open another restaurant where there would be fewer competitors, and began looking northward, settling on a location in Westbrook, which became the Fajita Grill. After its success there, Fuentes decided to open Cancun in Waterville in December 2007.

With its red-orange and green lettering over a white background in the colors of the Mexican flag, the Cancun restaurant sign itself is hard to miss, looming as large as a billboard over the Concourse.

"We never planned to call it Cancun. We planned to call it Fajita Grill. When we first bought the building, they publicized it in the papers that we were going to call it Fajita Grill."

Fuentes says people come from as far as Farmington to sample the food. "My restaurant's been bringing more business to downtown Waterville, than I believe, any other business around,” adding that it's one of the few restaurants downtown not owned by locals, and the food they serve sets it apart.

"People, when they travel, they know where the real food is, so when they have mole, carnitas, and this, they'll say, 'Wow! You know what? I believe you're a real one.'"

For that authenticity, Fuentes credits the variety of dishes they serve which reflect the cuisine of the different Mexican states, and include carnitas, a marinated pork dish popular in his hometown. "I think the carnitas is some of the best sandwich meat.” To marinate 80 pounds of pork to last on Fridays and Saturdays, they slow cook it in a copper pot for up to four hours, adding tequila, beer, coke, oranges, and garlic.

Chimichangas (fried burritos), Burrito Roqueta (pork-filled tortillas), and Mole Poblano, marinated chicken covered in chocolate sauce made with chiles, pepper, ginger, and spices remain customer favorites. Rancho Mix is a Cancun original creation: shrimp, a fish filet, Mexican sausage (chorizo), and steak, served with rice, beans, tortillas, and pico de gallo (rooster's beak), a spicy fruit relish.

Among seafood dishes, Fuentes compares the American idea of a shrimp cocktail to the Mexican equivalent. "You guys have horseradish, mix it with ketchup, and this and that, and there's your cocktail sauce. In Mexico, we serve on a cold, big cup, and that's basically with tomatoes, instead of ketchup. It's not as sweet as ketchup.” To that they add avocado, tomato, and onions.

Future menu items he's considering include lobster dip, lobster tacos, and haddock tacos.

Among the challenges in preparing dishes, finding certain ingredients locally can be difficult. "I've got somebody down in Georgia, they send me like 20 pounds of chiles every time I need it because here it's way too expensive."

Given the positive response to Cancun, Fuentes doesn't rule out opening a Bangor location. "I don't know this couple personally. They come from Bangor one day. They said, 'Oh, my God, Hector, this is so good.'" On a return trip they brought the presidents of the Chamber of Commerce with them, who exclaimed, "'Hector, we need one of these restaurants in Bangor!'"

To avoid comparisons to previous tenant Steve's Restaurant, Fuentes decided on decor of bright yellows, greens, reds, oranges, and blues. Now, the walls are a more subdued dark brown, with icicle lights in red, blue, yellow, and green strewn along them, and bright streamers of orange-red, green, and white hang from the ceiling provide a striking contrast. Thatched grass and fake palm trees that dangle from above with “coconuts” beneath their fronds lend a southwestern feel.

Customers are also treated to the music of a mariachi band on Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 to 9:00pm. "People have been like, 'Oh my God, this is so great -- in Waterville, Maine!'"

Recalling his most enjoyable experiences in business, Fuentes concludes, “The best moment is when I see the restaurant full, and people happy, and I know I'm going to have a meal for my family tomorrow.”

Cancun Mexican Restaurant at 14 Silver Street is open 7 days a week, Mondays through Saturdays from 11:00am to 9:00pm, and Sundays from 12:00pm to 9:00pm: (207) 872-7400. On Fridays and Saturdays, the banquet room is open for reservations. Web site: http://www.cancunwaterville.com .

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