Margarita's Amigos

Dave Quirarte + Ron Abarca + Larry Gromer; founded 1985 on Southwest Boulevard after the founders cooked burritos for General Motors co-workers; 5 KC-metro locations; 41+ years of operation; Ron Abarca died 2019.

Description

Margarita’s Amigos was founded in 1985 by Dave Quirarte and Ron Abarca, childhood friends who worked the night shift at General Motors in Kansas City. The origin story is textbook: the two cooked burritos for their GM co-workers after their shifts; 50 burritos sold out on day one; by the end of the first month they were selling 300/day; the Margarita’s Amigos Southwest Boulevard location opened in October 1985.¹

After a Kansas City Star article in 1986 publicly documented the operation’s early success, the business grew rapidly. Larry Gromer joined the ownership team in 1991.¹ Ron Abarca passed away in 2019, marking a significant ownership transition; Dave Quirarte and Larry Gromer continue.

The operation today runs 5 locations across the KC metro: Southwest Boulevard (original) + Gladstone (NKC) + Lenexa (Johnson County) + Liberty (Clay County) + Martin City. Each location maintains the Margarita’s-Amigos-house style + family-tier hospitality.

Ownership and history

Year	Event
Pre-1985	Dave Quirarte + Ron Abarca childhood friends; both work night shift at GM Kansas City
1985	Begin cooking burritos for GM co-workers; 50/day → 300/day by end of first month
October 1985	First Margarita’s Amigos location opens on Southwest Boulevard
1986	Kansas City Star article publicly documents the operation’s success
1991	Larry Gromer joins Dave + Ron in ownership
2019	Ron Abarca passes away
Subsequent years	Expansion to current 5-location footprint across KC metro

Tier classification

Tier 1 — Multi-decade KC family-tier operation; co-founder + multi-location expansion.

Criterion match (per Best-Mexican-In-KC-Spring-2027-Methodology-Workbook “KC-resident family operation, 5+ year”): -Family-tier operation across 41 years (origin story is family-tier; subsequent multi-location expansion maintained family-tier character) -KC-resident principals continuously (Quirarte + Abarca + Gromer all KC-resident) -Multi-location all under single ownership group -Independent (not chain; not corporate)

• Multi-location expansion may make this less Westside-Cornerstone-tier than Manny’s; Honorable Mention placement reflects this nuance — strong Mexican operator without being the heritage anchor

Menu

Last verified: 2026-06-20 · Source: Margarita’s Amigos official site (margaritasamigos.com — restaurant menu + drink specials) · URL(s): https://www.margaritasamigos.com/restaurant-menu + https://www.margaritasamigos.com/drink-specials · Confidence: High

Signatures

• #8 The Margarita Special — flour tortilla stuffed with ground beef, pork chili & beans, then covered in your choice of Queso or the house Margarita Dip, served with rice — $15.99²
• Margarita Dip — the house signature: white hot-pepper cheese dip with “secret ingredients,” served with tortilla chips — $11.29²
• #14 Chicken Argentine — marinated chicken breast over lettuce, topped with Margarita Dip — $16.79²

Tacos

• Original Taco — deep-fried corn tortilla with choice of ground beef, shredded chicken/beef, pork chile, or carnitas — $4.79²
• Authentic Taco — soft corn tortilla with cilantro and diced onion — $4.79²
• Soft / Puffy Taco — flour tortilla with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes — $5.79²

Enchiladas & Rellenos

• Cheese & Onion Enchilada — hand-rolled — $4.89²
• Spinach Enchilada — $4.89²
• Chile Relleno — one large mild poblano pepper stuffed with jalapeño-pepper cheese — $15.39²

Fajitas

• #18 Sizzlin’ Fajita — steak, chicken, shrimp, or combination sautéed with bell peppers and onions; served with rice, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, and choice of tortillas — $20.89²

Combo Dinners

• #1 Sampler — enchilada, tostada, taco, and tamale with beans and rice — $22.89²
• #3 Durango — two tamales and one taco with beans and rice — $22.29²
• #5 Baja — one taco with two enchiladas — $18.89²

Appetizers

• Queso — spiced, creamy golden cheese dip with chips — $11.29²
• Macho Nachos — chips with beef/chicken, beans, rice, pico de gallo — $15.89²
• Nachos Grande — tortilla chips with cheese and jalapeños — $7.49–$17.29²
• Quesadillas — grilled flour tortillas with cheese and fillings — $12.19–$19.39²

Margaritas & Drinks

• Ultimate Margaritas — the house signature, made to order in 9 flavors; the operation bills itself as serving “the best margaritas in town since 1985”³
• House Lime Margarita (Happy Hour) — $5.25 by the glass / $20.00 per 16 oz pitcher; Happy Hour runs 3–6pm daily at several locations³

Sources

• Status verified active 2026-06-23 via Margarita’s Amigos official site (accessed 2026-06-23). Southwest Blvd flagship (2829 Southwest Blvd, KC MO 64108) and 5-location metro footprint listed as operating; hours Mon–Sun 11am–7pm (Fri/Sat to 9pm).

Verification

• Level: Verified(Layer 2)
• Independence: Multiple sources covering founding + 30-year milestone + location list
• High confidence: founding story + co-founders + 5-location footprint + Abarca death
• Outstanding: specific addresses for each of 5 locations; current generation of operator-family members beyond the named principals

Footnotes

1. Margarita’s Amigos — official About + Story pages. https://www.margaritasamigos.com/ + https://www.margaritasamigos.com/about. Source asserts: 1985 founding; Dave Quirarte + Ron Abarca; childhood friends; GM night-shift co-workers; 50 burritos day one → 300/day end of first month; October 1985 Southwest Blvd opening; 1986 KC Star article; 1991 Larry Gromer joins; 2019 Ron Abarca death; 5 KC-metro locations. (Note: the formerly-cited secondary domain margaritasmexicansrestaurant.com no longer resolves — connection refused as of 2026-06-23, consistent with the prior dead-domain audit; removed as a live citation. Canonical site is margaritasamigos.com.) ↩ ↩²

2. Margarita’s Amigos — official restaurant menu. https://www.margaritasamigos.com/restaurant-menu (accessed 2026-06-20). Source asserts: #8 The Margarita Special ($15.99); Margarita Dip ($11.29); #14 Chicken Argentine ($16.79); Original/Authentic/Soft-Puffy Tacos; Cheese & Onion + Spinach Enchiladas ($4.89); Chile Relleno ($15.39); #18 Sizzlin’ Fajita ($20.89); #1 Sampler / #3 Durango / #5 Baja combo dinners; Queso, Macho Nachos, Nachos Grande, Quesadillas. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷

3. Margarita’s Amigos — official drink specials / happy hour pages. https://www.margaritasamigos.com/drink-specials (accessed 2026-06-20). Source asserts: “best margaritas in town since 1985”; award-winning Ultimate Margaritas made to order in 9 flavors; Happy Hour House Lime Margarita $5.25/glass, $20.00/16oz pitcher; Happy Hour 3–6pm daily at several locations. ↩ ↩²