By Ebony L. Morman 

Since 2018, Que Onda Tacos + Tequila — and more recently, Que Fresa — have become synonymous with casual dining that emphasizes quality: quality food, service, and experience. Much of the restaurants’ success can be attributed to owner Manuel Flores’ personal and professional experiences in the culinary world.

Prior to going at it alone, Flores had more than 20 years of experience working in fine dining, spending about a decade each working with two well-known chefs in the industry: Chef José Andrés of Jose Andrés Hospitality and Chef Richard Sandoval of Richard Sandoval Hospitality. His work with Sandavol included the role of international director of operations for various restaurants, which afforded him the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the business, front and back of the house. These experiences helped inform Flores’ vision for his own restaurants, particularly the keen focus on details and guest experience.

“It taught me the value of multi-concept,” he says. “I also ended up learning the corporate side of the business because of their mentality, their entrepreneurship, and experience growing multiple units in the fine dining aspect of the business.”

For Flores, applying a similar perspective to casual dining was the way to go. He opened the first Que Onda in Uptown as a full-service, modern Mexican restaurant with a tequila bar and full bar program. A spinoff of Que Onda, Que Fresa is a hybrid, fast-casual taqueria that has a full bar program, service at the bar and counter service in the dining room.

“I really enjoy the fast pace of it all, still with a focus on everything from scratch, a cocktail program, education, and attention to detail with service,” he says. “So quickly, we found out that we don’t necessarily have to have fine dining restaurants with a large footprint.”

Que Onda brings a level of quality above that of most casual dining spots. Kristen Wile/UP

As Flores and his team put the final touches on Que Onda’s fifth restaurant, which is scheduled to open in Plaza Midwood next month, the El Salvador native and D.C. transplant is poised to continue momentum by creating more opportunities for people to experience authentic, made-from-scratch Mexican food in the Charlotte area. He’s already searching for a second location for Que Fresa, which opened in Wesley Heights in late 2022.

With more than 100 tequilas on his menus, Flores’s goal is to be known for tequila and agave-focused cocktail programs across all restaurants, as well as featuring Mexican and local draft beers. Sit down restaurant Que Onda offers a modern approach to traditional entrées; one of the most popular dishes is pollo guajillo — grilled chicken, creamy Guajillo sauce, pico de gallo, bacon, creamy white rice, whole black beans, sweet plantains, and sour cream.

“We like to take those creative dishes, world food entrées and make them Mexican by incorporating a lot of Mexican ingredients,” he says. “We want to have familiar dishes but made our way with the Mexican touch from scratch.”

As a taqueria, Que Fresa brings a different experience and is known for both tacos with a little flare and traditional tacos made with tortillas that are a blend of flour and corn and are made by a company Flores has partnered with for years. While the tacos are popular, the birria rolls — flour tortilla, braised beef, crispy cheese, red onion, cilantro and beef consommé — are a best-selling appetizer and are indicative of Flores’ notion of taking trendy dishes and adapting them to his restaurants.

Flores is adamant about giving credit where it’s due, and admits his success is also due to the support of the Charlotte community, chef partner Roger Lemus, partner Danielle Carbajal, and Juan Romero, Que Fresa menu creator and partner, as well as his wife, Paola, and their children.

At the start of the new year, the team is not slowing down. They recently formed a hospitality group, Que Hospitality, and will onboard key leadership and further develop the company’s approach. A new, unnamed brand is in the works. The Spanish tapas restaurant will be located in Uptown and offer 20 to 30 hot and cold small plates and a sangria bar.

For Flores, it’s all about people, whether he’s on the floor requesting feedback from patrons at the restaurant or creating innovative ways for his team of more than 100 people to have a work/lifestyle balance that’s often hard to achieve in hospitality

“You have to have a good product, but people have to put it out,” he says. “So, it’s just as important, the people aspect of the business is really what is very satisfying and makes me continue to do what we do.”