Ancho & Agave

Middleton, Wisconsin

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Ancho & Agave is a Mexican themed restaurant with a twist. By combining years old traditional Mexican cuisine with a modern approach, it’s a familiar experience, but still unlike anything you’ve had before.

Mike White, Director of Culinary Operations, has worked closely with Founder & CEO Todd Hovenden to create the perfect blend of traditional and modern Mexican taste profiles.

Located in Middleton, WI, Ancho & Agave sits next to her sister restaurant Biaggi’s, an Italian themed restaurant, providing the locals with diverse cultural dining options within walking distance of each other.

For White and his team, the menu was developed from scratch and with fresh eyes. Considering their expertise in mastering Italian cuisine, this created the perfect opportunity to put a new twist on what we all thought we already knew. Sparing no expense, each menu item is made completely from scratch. No easy task considering the complexity of processes involved to create such incredible flavors, and to do so quickly.

As part of the overall kitchen redesign, Rapids transformed an existing “burger joint” production line into a fully functional modern chef station equipped to efficiently handle the rigorous demands of this style of fast-paced cooking and preparation.

The bar area was also completely remodeled to increase efficiency. It was raised on a six inch slab to allow for easier cleaning and maintenance. Typical debris from day to day operation can find its way under traditional equipment lines. With the new raised and sealed design, this is simply not possible. All of the bar equipment was modified to accommodate this task, creating one of the cleanest and easiest bars to maintain.

Patrons are greeted with warm and comforting décor highlighted by elegant lampshades and a copious amount of Edison-style exposed light bulbs. Distressed metal and even railroad spike accents complement cozy buttoned leather and wood motifs. Simply put, Ancho & Agave is as inviting to the eye as it is delightful to the nose and tastebuds.