HELENA — As many businesses struggle to keep up through the COVID-19 pandemic, Marc Barragan is flipping the situation on its head and paving his own path by opening a new restaurant.
Barragan, a server at another Mexican restaurant in Helena, is opening his own named Jalisco Mexican Grill; a name he chose as an homage to his birthplace.
Barragan said he understands this is a steep hill to climb and there will be challenges that present themselves rapidly, but he believes that being under restrictions due to the pandemic will allow his business to grow gradually.
"The restriction is going to give us the opportunity to start slow," said Barragan. “It’s going to be hard because of all the adequations that we have to make and the restrictions, and sanitizing everything."
Despite these challenges, Barragan said his current position gave him insight on what precautions to take ahead of preparing to open his restaurant and hopes that through hard work, his business will see success for years to come.
"Hopefully, we're gonna make it here great, and like I said, this is a real opportunity. I see it as a big opportunity, a nice opportunity. We got the people and their resources to help us to see it," said Barragan. "We got the attitude as well."
Located off Euclid Avenue, it will be opening in August.
