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The new venture is a first for the whole family. No one had ever run a restaurant, but that didn\u2019t stop them from trying. With their own skills and trades, everyone has a role in the restaurant.<\/p>\n
While the menu includes the popular California fries and chicken flautas, it\u2019s the aguas frescas Sandoval\u2019s mother was known for at family parties that started it all.<\/p>\n
The task of making the drinks and exploring new flavors has given her a sense of purpose and helps keep her active, he said.<\/p>\n
Today, you can choose anything from the traditional Jamaica and horchata flavors to cucumber and mango with the option of tajin, a type of chile powder, lining the rim of the cups.<\/p>\n
Before Sandoval\u2019s brother-in-law became the restaurant\u2019s cook\u2014the first cooking job he\u2019s ever had\u2014he was just \u201cthe weekend barbecue guy,\u201d Sandoval said. Yet his passion for cooking led him to rise to the occasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first day we started thinking about [opening the restaurant], he Googled [recipes], read books,\u201d Sandoval said.<\/p>\n
According to Sandoval\u2019s sister, his brother-in-law would even wake up in the middle of the night talking about food.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s since built management skills as he oversees other employees in the kitchen.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Sandoval\u2019s artist wife who would write up the menu, and Sandoval himself, whose day job is working as an architectural designer, tasked with marketing and handling the bills. Another relative was brought on for his construction skills.<\/p>\n As the family has been able to come closer together\u2014they see each other more often now and even share breakfast together on the weekends\u2014the restaurant itself has become a place where neighbors get to meet each other or old acquaintances can catch up.<\/p>\n Sandoval has heard of cases where friends that “live in the same street but didn’t\u00a0know or see each other and run into each other here,” he said.<\/p>\n Recognizing the need for a community hangout place in the city\u2019s northside, Sandoval said he purposely wanted to open the restaurant near his neighborhood, where he’s lived for 15 years (he’s lived in the city itself for 35 years).<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted to bring Downtown uptown,\u201d said Sandoval.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worked and then some. They\u2019ve gained loyal customers who know them by name, hug them, and one man was such a big fan that he got married at the restaurant, which also catered the wedding.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve also hosted company parties, baptisms and other special events.<\/p>\n And while it may be the food and drinks bringing people back, sometimes it\u2019s the name of the restaurant itself, a play on a Spanish slang phrase meaning roughly \u201cWatch out dude!\u201d that gets people in the door.<\/p>\n Sandoval said a pair once walked in the restaurant after spotting it while driving down Long Beach Boulevard.<\/p>\n \u201cTwo guys were driving and one guy was going a little fast and the passenger yells out Aguas Way!\u201d said Sandoval. \u201cHe thought he was telling him watch out!\u201d<\/p>\n Sandoval said while he is currently focusing on customer service and getting to a comfortable spot with the business, one of his long-term goals is to open a smaller version of Aguas Way at a mall. That version would focus on the aguas frescas, with it\u2019s fresh fruits as opposed to syrup and no ice to water it down.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes a big difference,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/0730-AguasWay-060.jpg\")
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