Local restaurant to open fourth location in Pflugerville

Morelia Mexican Grill, already a Round Rock staple, will expand its reach to Pflugerville this summer as the locally owned restaurant chain opens its fourth location in Stone Hill Town Center's "restaurant row."

A model of homegrown success, Morelia opened its first restaurant in 2005 when Israel Arreola Jr., president of the company, decided that his mother and father's recipes were too good not to share.

"We started in Elgin, working together, working hard, putting in a lot of hours," Arreola said, adding that working in the restaurant reminds him of his childhood and his parents' home-cooked meals.

A few years after the Elgin restaurant was established, Arreola convinced his parents to expand, opening the Round Rock restaurant in 2009. They then opened the Parmer Lane location in 2011, which their new restaurant in Stone Hill Town Center is modeled after.

The Pflugerville location will match the Parmer restaurant in size, but, unlike that Morelia, it will not have a patio.

"We are very excited about this one [Stone Hill Town Center]," Arreola said. "I think it is going to be very similar to the Parmer Lane location, if not better. The expectations for this area are very high."

To help meet those expectations, the restaurant will feature events on Friday and Saturday nights, including live music, Operations Manager Yamil Hernandez said.

The Stone Hill Town Center restaurant will join Shogun Japanese Restaurant as the first tenants in the area known as "restaurant row," a pedestrian-friendly spot with widened sidewalks, patios and landscaping.

While the Pflugerville Morelia is still under construction, once it is completed costumers at the new restaurant will be greeted with a number of archways to give the restaurant an ethnic, if not rustic, feel, Arreola said.

However, he added, it is the food and service that sets them apart.

"We are not just any typical Mexican or Tex-Mex restaurant," Arreola said. "We use the freshest ingredients, the best out there, and just always do it right. We don't take any shortcuts, and that is basically what sets us apart from our competition."

The restaurant, which serves a variety of Mexican dishes and seafood, is known for its fajitas and fried avocados, Arreola said.

"We have different kinds of fajitas, like eight different kinds, and almost all of them are popular, and that is something you won't see if you go to another Mexican place," he said. "You will just see your typical fajitas, but we put that extra sauce on top, whatever it is [the customer wants.]"

The success of the restaurant has led the Arreola family to branch out in another direction, opening Morelia Taco Village at 1400 E. Old Settlers Blvd., Ste. 110, in Round Rock, which Arreola said was a "new concept" for the family.

Arreola said he hopes to hold a soft opening for the Pflugerville restaurant in late June or early July before a formal ribbon-cutting event, but was playing everything by ear for now.

"We will be here to provide the best food and the best service for our customers," Arreola said.

A diner favorite

The fried shrimp avocado—one of three variations of the popular fried avocado dish—is made with layers of breading, shrimp and Monterrey Jack cheese to give the meal an array of textures, from crisp on the outside to creamy at the center. The dish is made with rice and salsa and a choice of a crispy chicken taco, pork charro or refried beans, and a cup of tortilla soup.

The cream sauce poured on top of Arreola's Fajitas Romanas is made using a combination of fresh green onions, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.

Morelia Mexican Grill, 920 E. Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock, www.moreliamexicangrill.com, 255-0511

Coming soon to Stone Hill Drive in Pflugerville