Viva Mercado's Mexican Bar and Grill

Viva Mercado's is the culmination of the life work of Robert Mercado, where they proudly serve a large variety of traditional Mexican dishes with a homemade taste. Their massive menu has all the favorites you'd expect, like tacos, nachos, enchiladas, and more.

They also offer their house specialties like Chicharrones, Chiles Verde, and Machaca con Huevos and If you are a burrito fan, they have twenty different varieties.

Viva Mercado is making their own salsas, from mild to super spicy. In addition, you can get margaritas by the glass or pitcher, frozen or on the rocks, Mexican beer, and specialty cocktails.

This traditional Mexican spot has four pet-friendly outdoor tables where you can sit outside. Open Sunday through Thursday 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday 11:00 am to 10:00 pm.

Casual eatery with folksy flair, Mexican classics & flavored margaritas, plus TVs & outdoor seating.

A casual eatery serving Mexican cuisine and flavored margaritas. There is also outdoor seating. Select Menu Warning: call user func array expects that parameter 1 is a valid callback. class atpgenerator doesn't have a method @pprimarymenu mobile in home customer www vivamercadoslv.com html wpcontent themes mataam framework common ap generator.php line 635. The Restaurant Viva Mercado s celebrates the achievements of Robert Mercado and offers a wide variety of Mexican traditional dishes, all with aam. The restaurant can be enjoyed by all ages and is great for family or friends.

Many of our long-standing fans have visited us over the years. Since our move to Summerlin, we have made many new friends. Visit us after your movie night for lunch or dinner to enjoy a delicious meal, a cocktail at the bar, and a great time with friends. Bobby Mercado Bobby Mercado understands the importance of friendship.

Mercado grew up in a family that was traditional, but he later found out the same family didn t always support him. His parents split when he was very young. Although he likes to keep his past secret, the truth is that Mercado gave up college dreams at an early age to help his siblings. When he arrived in Las Vegas, he only had five dollars.

Mercado is not one to dwell on his past. He turned those 5 into Viva Mercado s Mexican Restaurant Cantina. And he has a healthy, large family. Mercado says that none of this would have been possible if it weren't for his friends from college.

He said that he had received a lot help. It is located in a small shopping mall at Flamingo Road and Jones Boulevard. The original restaurant has received awards every year. It had 12 tables and 8 booths.

The restaurant featured soft-light lighting. The bar has six seats for a drink or playing video poker. There are five more stools if there is not enough space. As evidenced by tables, carpeting and trees, green was the predominant color.

Hanging pinatas, wall-mounted ceramic masks mounted on walls and metal suns provided local color. The atmosphere was heightened by the use of sombreros. The theme of sombreros is more prominent at this new location. The entrance features two photos of Employee of the month winners, along with several Little League and youth soccer teams that Mercado sponsors.

Although Mercado is a successful businessman, he stated that his ultimate goal was to repay the kindness and respect he received when he didn't have anything. He said, "I want to be part in the community." This is my way to say, "Thank you" for all the blessings I have been given. It gives me the opportunity to live a comfortable life and has given me opportunities that I did not have as a child. It was important to me that children have good experiences from a young age.

It is easy to learn responsibility quickly. Southern Comfort Mercado was born in Mexico City in 1956. His mother Olga and his stepfather Absalon were his primary caregivers. Mercado's earliest memories of the United States are those of his childhood meals.

His grandmother Victoria and his mother were his first introductions to American cuisine. Mercado stated that he remembers his father's home, family and food. He also remembered festive occasions. Mercado learned about the importance sauces when making Mexican food.

He said that my grandmother used chile chipotle to make eggs. This is a vine-ripened jalapeno which turns red and sweet. It is dried and smoked to make chipotle. Then it is cooked in an adobo with garlic and spices.

Victoria lived her entire life in Mexico City and passed on her knowledge about moles (or sauces that are served with various foods) to Mercado. Moles can be made from a variety of ingredients, including onions, garlic and chiles. However, mole poblano contains Mexican chocolate which gives the sauce its rich flavor. Mercado stated that sauces are important to us.

You can cook meat with any sauce, but it is the sauce that gives it its flavor. His family, Northern Exposure Mercado, moved from Mexico City to Chicago in 1961. Roberto Cantoral is his biological father and the president of Latin America's Composers and Musicians Guild. He composes and produces soap operas.

Mercado's half-sister Itati stars in a Brazilian soap opera. He said that he has no relations with Mexican families. All contact was lost. Mercado's Chicago upbringing consisted mainly of attending school and doing odd jobs, although he also continued to learn about food.

Mercado explained that my mother would give me a recipe list and then I'd take it back to her and help cook. Watching my mother cook taught me how to experiment with various recipes. In 1971, Mercado's stepfather was hired as the manager at La Margarita in Morton Grove. This Mexican restaurant seats 400 people.

Mercado, a freshman in Notre Dame High School, Niles (a suburb of Chicago), had dreams to go to college and join the Air Force. Those plans were put off during Mercado's junior year. Mercado recalls that the INS invaded the restaurant and stole the dishwashers in the summer 1972. My father called and told me to get on my bike and go over there.

The chef taught me how to use the conveyor belt that transports the dishwasher after I had ridden six miles. Mercado's journey into the restaurant world began. He continued to stay onboard for the rest of the summer. In the fall, Mercado went back to school.

He worked nights and earned his degree as a prep cook, assistant cook, head chef, busboy, waiter, and dishwasher. Mercado laughed about the whole enchilada. Desert Bound Mulitas Mercado and his stepfather, Eddy, and Jimmy joined him for a trip to Las Vegas in December 1974. Mercado stated that there was a family emergency involving his mother and they had to move to Vegas.

He preferred to not reveal the details. The trip was so quickly organized that Mercado's father did not even have a job. Mercado had to take on the responsibility of being caregiver. He said that he had three younger sisters and four brothers.

College was not in the plans. I wish I had gone to college. Mercado returned to his roots quickly and was hired as a waiter at Viva Zapata's restaurant. He said that the restaurant industry was in his blood already, as a waiter or busboy, you make money every day.

Mercado, who was just 19 years old at that time, had to be paired up with a legal-aged busboy. He remembers that I would bring his drink order to the bar and drop it off. Another busboy would then pick up the drink and deliver it. He was 21 years old when Mercado became the head of the busboys.

He said that he was responsible for the entire floor within a year. Mercado still managed the original Viva Zapata s when Greg Ramirez, its owner opened another. He wanted me to work at the restaurant but couldn't pay me as much in tips. He said that I was very well-known and would knock on my table.

Quick Study In 1978, Mercado accepted to work in the second restaurant. They had big problems and needed my assistance. However, it was a huge loss for me as I lost many clients. Greg was my friend and I felt that I owed him this.

Marilyn, his wife, took me shopping with her and helped me choose clothes. I was treated with kindness by her. Although it took almost a year for Mercado to build up a clientele at the second Viva Zapata s location, he was able to establish his value as a contributor to menus. Pico de Gallo is a spicy raw salsa made of tomatoes, lime juice, cilantro and jalapenos.

My first time in Las Vegas was when there were only tacos and burritos. In 1985, Mercado became the Manager Head Waiter. He said that I began to develop new menus and set up a catering company. We had between 10 and 15 menu items when I first started.

We had fifty items when I finished. Mercado grew up learning from his relatives and he also read every cookbook he could to expand his knowledge about food. He said that he just felt that he always knew how to do it. This business is very creative to me.

Although I struggle with customer names, I know their favourite dish. Mercado knew that the owner would soon retire and that he would be taking over completely the restaurant. That plan was canceled in 1989. Mercado stated that they had padlocked the area and closed it off completely.

That was a terrible experience. It was a place I had created and nurtured, which left me in complete shock. Lean on Me Mercado was left without a job and with no one to help him after the death of his stepfather in 1982. He turned to his friends for support.

He had some very influential friends. Mercado stated that Larry Ruvo, Southern Wine Spirits of Nevada's boss, had become a close friend of mine because of the restaurant. He learned about me and got me interview offers from all of the local restaurants. There was one problem: Restaurants were not hiring managers without college degrees.

He said that he couldn't find a job. Larry suggested that Mercado come and work as a salesman for my liquor company. Mercado accepted the offer and took over Ruvo's accounts for Chinese, Japanese, and Mexican ethnicities. As I am traveling I meet one of my former customers and ask him why he doesn't want to open his own restaurant.

He said that he couldn't find any restaurant offering what I offer. It was something I had never considered. One of his close friends was able to help him overcome the financial hurdles that he faced in opening his restaurant. Ken Fleming was another former customer of Mercado.

He helped me to put together a business plan, and also helped me find investors. Mercado selected a West Flamingo Road property and was eager to move forward, but the deal fell through. Mercado recalls that Desert Storm occurred and all the investors pulled away. One investor remained, a small old woman who didn't want her name.

She told me to find something smaller. Instead of purchasing the original property, Ferraro s Italian Restaurant opened in Mercado's Flamingo shopping mall. Although the original space measured only 1,800 square feet, Mercado was able to fill it quickly. His reputation was maintained even though he had left the restaurant business.

He said that we opened our doors in March 1991 with only 14 tables. We served over 200 customers the day after opening. This was purely by word-of-mouth. Viva Mercado serves traditional Mexican favorites like tamales, enchiladas and tostadas.

However, Mercado also offers specialty dishes such tacos Acapulco and chicharrones pork chops that are simmered with salsa costena and whole pinto beans, and topped off with onions and cilantro. Mercado was able to make enough money by the end of his first year. In 1996, Mercado tried to open a second Green Valley restaurant. However, he had to shut it down by 1999.

He said that too many things weren't going his way. The future is brighter than ever at Rainbow and Spring Mountain. Rebuilding Ties Although Mercado does not keep in touch his Mexican family, he keeps in contact with his mother, a Methodist minister, in Atlanta. All his siblings, however, live in Las Vegas.

He laughed and said that he was the only one who is a glutton for punishment. Mercado and Amy have a large family despite their long hours at the restaurant. He married Amy in 1996. Alysa and Jared are his children.

Christopher, a son of an older marriage, is now living in New York and has recently presented Mercado a grandchild. Mercado would like all of his children to go to college, but he said he won't stop them from pursuing his career. Eddy wants to start his own restaurant, Mercado stated. He actually has his own recipe.

Then he took one quesadilla, rolled it up, and said, "You have to make it on the menu." CONNECT TO US 702 454-84282