Sergio Lugo-Mata may not have trained professionally as a chef, but growing up in restaurants, he gained all the experience he needed to open three successful culinary businesses of his own.
A bit unruly in his school days, whenever he’d get in trouble, Lugo-Mata says his mom would pick him up and take him to work with her. But little did she know, he would develop an affinity for the restaurant industry. His first official job was at Rio Grande in Nitro.
“I’ve been in restaurants since I was young and worked in restaurants since I was about 14 years old,” Lugo-Mata says. “I learned how to run food, plate tables, stuff like that.”
He has worked alongside his uncle at Mi Pueblito in Hurricane and worked in management at Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant in Barboursville.
Just five years out of high school, with a little push from his friends, Lugo-Mata decided to open his own restaurant, Guadalajara Modern Mexican, in his hometown of Nitro in 2021, learning as he went. With the Guadalajara brand, Lugo-Mata focuses on modern Mexican fusion and authentic cooking.
In addition to traditional foods like jumbo burritos or pollo con arroz, other menu items like the posole or tamale special and Mexican meatball soup, which is unique to the Jalisco region of Mexico, are a big hit with customers.
“Our biggest special is the tamale special, and each time we do it, it gets more and more popular,” Lugo-Mata says.
“To see something very authentic, especially those tamales that are a family recipe, be extremely popular in a town like Nitro, West Virginia, it’s something to be very proud of. It’s a great feeling to see people trying new things like that. Some people aren’t ready to step out of the box yet and that’s fine, but we’ll get you covered.”
Lugo-Mata is opening a second Guadalajara location in Barboursville this month, and it will feature even more fusion on its menu, with a Mexican take on tuna tartare, Mexican crab cakes and jambalaya.
But before he planned to open a second Guadalajara location, Lugo-Mata knew he wanted to do something different for his next venture. A year after opening the Nitro location, he was ready to take on another restaurant, and Sergio’s Cucina Italiana and Steaks was born.
“There’s not a lot of Italian restaurants in this area,” he says. “I asked myself if I was somebody who was just looking for somewhere to eat, what would I want?”
Once he secured a location, Lugo-Mata developed a menu with nearly 70 items, narrowing it down as he and his team started to make each recipe, depending on price point for customers and length of time to produce.
“Whenever we had our menu done, we ran a test course on the servers we were training, and they seemed to really enjoy everything,” he says. “Then we had a soft opening, and the feedback from that was great so that’s what we went into.”
From there, Lugo-Mata was able to secure another location in Charleston’s thriving Elk City district to open a second Italian restaurant part of the brand–this time around, Sergio’s Cucina Italiana and Pizzas.
Calling a historic building its home, the first Sergio’s opened on Main Street in Hurricane last December, and this year’s Elk City location was the busiest opening Lugo-Mata has experienced so far, he says.
There are just a few differences between the two Sergio’s. In Elk City, you can expect pizza, while the Hurricane location focuses more on steaks.
“In Charleston, we have two less steaks, our menu has pizza on it, and we have more items like the raviolis, vodka penne pasta, a veggie Alfredo and more,” he says.
Overall customer favorites include the ribeye shrimp fondue, which pairs well with the risotto, Lugo-Mata says, as well as the vodka penne pasta that features a creamy, robust flavor—it’s a sauce bursting with tomatoes and onions with a great balance and flow.
Some of the most popular appetizers at Sergio’s are the cheese fondue, fried mozzarella and the chicken alfredo fries. “They have a thick coating of this masa batter on them; that way they don’t get soggy, so that when you’re eating, sort of like nachos, it holds its profile,” Lugo-Mata says.
Another Sergio’s special is the rosa sauce, a creamy blend of the marinara and alfredo sauces, creating a bright orange color and rich flavor.
“My all-time personal favorite is anything rosa,” Lugo-Mata says. “You get a good buttery, cheesiness to your tomato, so it’s a real great flavor on that pasta.”
Lugo-Mata says he wants to make sure his businesses are family oriented, family friendly and, most important, affordable to everyone while still maintaining a one-of-a-kind dining experience.
“I’m here to establish a great atmosphere,” he says. “A great bang for your buck is what I tell everybody.”
Self-taught, a major source of inspiration for Lugo-Mata has simply always been feedback from others, especially during his time at Mi Pueblito.
“I was our kitchen manager for about two years,” he says. “Customers knew I’d be in the kitchen and would be like, ‘Just tell Sergio to make me whatever.’ A lot of those items actually went on the Guadalajara menu.”
While wanting to take a bit of a break and enjoy his current restaurant brands, at the same time, he has plans forming for another restaurant, this time a new concept that’s more personal. Tentatively called Restaurant 747, it will be an American style gastropub with gourmet offerings and takes on wings, appetizers, entrees and more.
“I’m a big aviation guy, I love planes,” Lugo-Mata says. “I want to do something to incorporate that concept and make it this unique place.”
“I’m still working on developing my talents as far as cooking goes,” he says. “Eventually, ultimately, I do want to try and attempt for a Michelin star. I know I’m not there yet, but hopefully one day.”
