What’s replacing Marcella’s? Stanislaus County restaurant opening second location
I remember witnessing the disappointment of customers who learned that longtime Marcella’s Mexican Restaurant on Tully Road was going to close in January 2025.
Now, a year later, it is being replaced. The news comes with excitement because the business moving in is another popular, family-owned Mexican restaurant.
Three sisters — Sandra, Gabriela and Mabel Lujan — opened Agave Azul Mexican Restaurant and Tequila Bar in Hughson in 2012. It has since gained more than 17,000 followers on Instagram as well as regular customers from both Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.
The two sisters still involved in the business, Sandra and Gabriela, also own two food trucks in Turlock and Ceres, called Las Katrina’s. The pair is taking over the former Marcella’s unit in the Frontier Town Shopping Center to open a second Agave Azul.
“We decided to open a second location in response to the growing demand from our loyal customers and to reach new patrons in the area,” Sandra Lujan said. “We get customers from Modesto, Ripon, Salida and Manteca, so it’ll be much closer for customers in that area.”
The site will be completely renovated, so customers can expect a “new, refreshed look while incorporating modern elements,” she said. There will still be a bar.
What does Agave Azul serve?
In addition to traditional Mexican dishes like burritos, quesadillas, tacos and molcajete, Agave Azul is known for its weekend brunch items, including bottomless mimosas and hanging tacos.
It has a specialty cocktail menu with drinks such as a lychee martini, mezcal negroni and, of course, a number of margarita and paloma options.
The menu at the Modesto restaurant will be largely the same as the Hughson location, with a “few new additions that reflect local tastes and seasonal ingredients,” Sandra Lujan said.
Agave Azul will open late spring or early summer.
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