Aguilera was raised in Corpus Christi and has been in the food service industry for more than 20 years. Aguilera said his experiences from childhood and working in the industry, paired with his knowledge of both Tex-Mex food and seafood, gave him the skill set necessary to open his own restaurant—Mex Sea Co.—in Pearland.
"I grew up in the kitchen," he said. "While most kids were fixing cars with [their] dad, I was cooking with [my] mom in the kitchen."
After stints managing national food chains and partnering to open restaurants in the past, Aguilera said the opportunity to open a restaurant was presented to him at an ideal time.
"While I was working [as managing partner] at Stadia Sports Grill, [the Mex Sea Co.] property came up for rent," he said. "Another mutual friend of mine knew the property manager, so they introduced us. We came in and checked out the restaurant, and it was semifurnished with a semifull kitchen. It was too good of a deal to pass up."
Aguilera capitalized on the opportunity and opened Mex Sea Co.—his first majority-owned eatery—in August 2013 at 1853 Pearland Parkway, Ste. 135. With the acquisition of the location, Aguilera said he was able to put a long-simmering idea of his into action.
"This is the first Mex Sea Co. I've done, but it's always [been] a concept that I had in the back of my head," he said. "The name actually came from another restaurant. There was a Mex Sea Co. that another friend of mine opened about 10 years ago. They went out of business, and I've always loved the name."
The concept for the restaurant stemmed from Aguilera's desire to introduce a different style of Mexican food to the area, which was a style of food similar to the types of dishes his parents cooked, he said.
"I wanted to bring some of those more authentic Tex-Mex flavors," he said.
"To me, some of the chain Tex-Mex places up here are all chili gravy and cheese. We don't do a whole lot of that."
The ancho spice pork chops are served on yucca mash and topped with tomatillo sauce. ($15)[/caption]Along with featuring the Tex-Mex entrees Aguilera learned to cook during his childhood, the menu also boasts many seafood dishes with a coastal spin, including redfish on the half shell.
"I grew up fishing on the back bays of Corpus [Christi]," he said. "[On the half shell] was the only way my dad cooked redfish. We'd come home [after fishing] and grill it because it was easy. It was like the lazy man's way of cooking redfish. A lot of the [cooking styles] that we [use] are things I started doing when I was young."
Mex Sea Co. opened in August 2013 and offers both Tex-Mex food and seafood selections.[/caption]Aguilera said he hopes to open more Mex Sea Co. restaurants in the future, but is wary of expanding too quickly. He said he may start looking at expansion around the restaurant's two-year anniversary.
"[My business partners and I] have always said we'd probably do two or three [Mex Sea Co. restaurants]," Aguilera said. "It's just got to be the right time."
Mex Sea Co. 1853 Pearland Parkway, Ste. 135, Pearland
832-486-9611
www.mex-sea-co.com
Hours: Mon.-Wed. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Thu.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 a.m., Sat. 10 a.m.-2 a.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
