Oconto welcomes Los Magueyes restaurant

Herrera brothers open fifth location serving authentic Mexican cuisine
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

As has been his custom since taking office, Oconto Mayor John Panetti rang an old school bell as a small crowd of well-wishers stood in front of the newly opened Los Magueyes with the traditional yellow ribbon and two large pairs of scissors.

“Here ye, here ye, it’s the beginning of a new era in Oconto,” he intoned. “We welcome Los Magueyes to our city, the first flagship north of the border for authentic Mexican cuisine.”

Over the past 16 years, brothers Julio and Polo Herrera have grown their restaurant business slowly and deliberately, opening first one and eventually three Los Magueyes locations around the city of Green Bay, then expanding to Pulaski. Oconto is the next step in a northerly direction for the eateries that emphasize south-of-the-border cuisine.

Magueyes are a form of the agave plant from which tequila is made, and the restaurant’s logo features a worker harvesting the sweet sap from the plant’s pineapple-like base, which will be fermented and distilled.

“This restaurant will be community friendly,” business manager Orlando Puc said, and that intention is reflected by the sign on the wall substituting the magueys harvester for the courthouse in the official “Oconto County Wisconsin” logo. The canopy over the bar is also dotted with Oconto Blue Devil symbols.

“It’s very impressive what they’ve done here,” said Ron Hayes, the president of the Oconto Area Chamber of Commerce, looking around at what for many years was the Riverside Bar at the intersection of Smith and McDonald streets along the Oconto River. Although it wasn’t open for the grand opening with temperatures hovering around 20 degrees, the outdoor seating area on the river remains.

The interior is decorated with a colorful variety of murals and furniture decorated with Mexican art, which was custom made by craftsmen in Tonala, Jalisco, Julio Herrera said. Tonala is a city known for its handicrafts in the state of Jalisco, the same region as the city of Tequila.

Los Magueyes is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily at 106 Smith St., Oconto, the same hours as its other locations at 203 S. St. Augustine St., Pulaski; and 129 S. Webster Ave., 1053 Velp Ave., and 2648 S. Packerland Drive in Green Bay.


wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com