News: Abbotsford – La Katrina Bar & Grill (2021)

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Ortiz

Source: Tribune-Phonograph (Abbotsford, WI) 01 Sep 2021

The Ortiz family, owners of La Katrina Bar & Grill on the east side of Abbotsford, are not the types to rush something out of the kitchen before it’s ready.

In fact, they like to take time with each dish before even adding it to the menu.

“We try to make a dish perfect, if there is such a thing. Once we feel like it’s perfect, then we offer it,” said Jose Jr., who runs the restaurant with his parents, Jose Sr. and Maria.

When it comes to the restaurant itself, they’re not in a huge hurry to have it all perfect and ready for some big grand opening. Although it’s still a work in progress, Jose Jr. says they are ready to start welcoming more people into their establishment at 1001 East Spruce St.

“Now is the time where we feel comfortable,” he said. “We just want people to try our food.”

Having a soft opening gives the family more time to work on adding dishes and making sure the service is adequate for their customers, Jose Jr. says.

Jose Sr. had previously operated the venue as a bar only, but the family has spent the last year working on the kitchen and remodeling the building. Jose Jr. even left his job as an interpreter at Marshfield Clinic in order to work fulltime plus at his parents’ restaurant.

Those who have been driving by the old Hardee’s building for years without stopping may have noticed the new sign, with its bold artwork, or the rooster statues that have popped up outside the building.

It’s all part of the family’s efforts to create a unique, inviting atmosphere to complement their distinctive food.

“We’re really passionate about art,” Jose Jr. said. “The dishes that we do, we try to make them visually pleasing.”

The basic menu has just six items — tacos, burritos, quesadillas, flautas and two type of hamburgers — but they continue to add items as they are created.

Jose Jr. said his parents are very much at home in the kitchen, where they come up with the recipes themselves, making everything from scratch and as fresh as possible. The three of them reevaluate their menu regularly, and before anything is added, they make sure the dish is up to their standards, Jose Jr. said.

La Katrina’s tacos, made with marinated pork, are the result of trial-and-error experiments in the kitchen, Jose Jr. said.

The two types of hamburgers — one with avocado and chipotle sauce and the other with ham and pineapple — start with fresh beef patties made by Maria.

“She makes the patties from scratch,” he said. “We don’t buy the patties.”

The French fries are also made from scratch by simply slicing up a potato, adding seasoning and throwing it in a fryer.

A special dish is a Mexican beef soup made with corn, carrots and celery. There’s also the Seven Seas, a collection for seafood lovers, featuring everything from shrimp to octopus.

On the drink menu are a couple of house drinks, including a blue margarita with an orange flavor and a michelada, made with tomato juice, hot sauce, lime and beer.

“It’s almost like a Mexican bloody Mary,” Jose, Jr. said.

La Katrina is not defining itself strictly as a Mexican restaurant, either.

“We didn’t want to limit ourselves to just Mexican cuisine,” he said. “We’re going to incorporate fish frys on Fridays. It’s going to be done how it’s traditionally made, in an American way, but with the flavor of La Katrina, with our own style.”

The fish will be beer-battered and, like everything else, the potato salad side dish will be made from scratch.

“We feel very confident that people are going to like it,” he said.

With his parents doing so much work in the kitchen, Jose refers to himself as the “other piece of the puzzle” — working the register, tending bar and making customers feel comfortable.

All three family members are originally from Mexico, but Jose Jr. has spent most of his life in the United States.

The artwork on their sign, and the name of the restaurant itself, is a tribute to one of their home country’s most famous festivals, Dia Del Muerto (Day of the Dead). La Katrina refers to the skeletal woman often seen at the center of the festivities, which are a way of honoring ancestors who have passed away.

“It’s important to us to remember the people who have passed,” he said. “It’s a celebration of life. That’s kind of why we gravitated to that theme.”

After several years when the building sat dormant — or restaurants came and went without leaving much of a mark — the owners of La Katrina are determined to make a name for themselves.

“I think it’s really important to show to the community that we do care about what we do, and we want to have a great impression,” Jose Jr. said. “I want that to translate to the food.”

Besides food and drinks, La Katrina is also looking to have Latin music nights on Saturday, with karaoke available to those who want to sing. The restaurant is also available to rent for parties.

One corner of the restaurant is also specially furnished and decorated so that it can one day serve as a miniature coffee bar and breakfast nook.

Jose Jr. said he spends so much time at the restaurant — putting in the work needed to make it run smoothly — that it feels like home to him. He wants to share that feeling with the people who come walking through the door looking for good food and drink.

“We want people to feel at home here,” he said. “I practically live here. This is kind of like my home. I do have a house that I share with my parents, but it’s kind of like a hotel. I just stay there and sleep. I want people to know that this is everything to me.”

La Katrina, which opens at noon every day except Monday, can be reached by calling 715-316-0943. The restaurant’s Facebook page includes updates on newly added menu items and upcoming events.