By TR Robertson
Wildwood Crossing and Cantina, located at 116 Civic Center Dr, is open for business under the leadership of new owners Sally Schoeffel, Alexis Aguilar and Elsa Morales, with some changes underway, one of which is a new name – Rancho El Agave Cantina y Cocina. The name change will go into effect once the licensing for the name change is approved. The Wildwood location is the former home of The Rancho Early California Restaurant and later the La Paloma Cantina Restaurant. Sally Schoeffel owned and built the buildings in the late at Rancho El Agave with Mexico region names above the booths[/caption]1970’s and early 1980’s, that currently house the restaurant, businesses along with several other buildings nearby. Sally and her husband Rudd once lived in the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe for 20 years. She said she specifically built the current building housing Wildwood years ago, with the intent of opening a restaurant, which was once named The Rancho, and ran the restaurant until the 1980’s. Sally got out of the restaurant business and the new owners took over and on August 13, 1980, opened and renamed the restaurant La Paloma Cantina Restaurant. La Paloma was a very popular restaurant in Vista for years. La Paloma closed in 2017, reopening in November 2017 by new owner Martin Anding as Wildwood Crossing and Cantina with a Louisiana jazz-and-blues club atmosphere and creole-inspired menu. Wildwood came under new ownership in 2018,changing to a Steakhouse/Mexican food menu offering musical entertainment and dancing as well as doing what they could to remain open during the pandemic, using the outdoor patio area for patrons to enjoy their meal and hear the entertainment. Wildwood Crossing and Cantina closed in 2023.
Original owner Sally Schoeffel decided it was time to reopen the restaurant, as she said, “this location was built to stay a restaurant”. With two new partners, the intent is to change the name to Rancho El Agave Cantina y Cocina, with a menu that combines some of the traditional and new Mexican dishes along with some popular American dishes. New Chef Emilio Rodriguez and the leadership team are now serving a wide variety of selections for the public, bringing back memories of the popular La Paloma menu. Experienced Bar tender Miguel Cortez has the Rancho El Agave Cantina y Cocina bar in full operation offering a nice selection of Draft and Bottled Beer as well as a wide array of House Cocktails. Happy Hour is from 3-5 pm.
Sally, Alexis and Elsa will be making some minor changes inside Rancho El Agave, mostly to bring back some of the historic artwork that once hung inside the restaurant. For the time being the restaurant’s name Wildwood will stay until all of the licensing and paperwork necessary for the name change is completed. Their plan is to bring back music to the outside patio area, which overlooks Wildwood Park, and to make the Salon Mexico area available for parties, celebrations, meetings, and other community needs they can provide. They are Vista Chamber of Commerce members and plan on doing a Grand opening Red Ribbon Cutting once the name change is in effect.
Chef Emilio and Sally said the menu is not completely set and will go through some changes as they decide what to change, add and keep. Some of the selections now available include Appetizers like Guacamole and Totopos Rancho Agave, Potato Skins Rancho Agave, Chef’s Bread Rancho Agave, Jalapenos Rancho Agave, and Smoked BBQ Ribs. Sandwiches are offered like a French Dip Sandwich, Texas BBQ Burger, Club House Sandwich, the Rancho Agave Burger, and a Classic Torta del Chavo. For those wanting Mexican food choices some of the items you can choose from are Mole Enchiladas, Tijuana Tacos, San Diego Burrito, Quesadillas Maria and Traditional Sopes and Enchilada. Some of the House Specialties are the Rib Eye Steak, Smoked Prime Rib, Grilled Salmon, and Carnitas Michoacan. Salad selections are offered including the Rancho Agave Salad which is a meal by itself. If you need a dessert to finish off your meal you can choose between Flan Josefina, Agave Churros or Cheesecake. These are but a few of the meal selections currently available on the Wildwood (Rancho El Agave) menu.
Their hours of operation and serving are Wednesday through Sunday 12-9 pm, with the kitchen closing at 8:30 pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. Sally, Alexis, Elsa, Emilio, Miguel and their staff wants everyone to know they are now fully open for your dining pleasure with new menu choices and a return to the comfortable, colorful and memorable atmosphere that made this restaurant so very popular many years ago. Stop by and check out what’s happening at Wildwood, soon to be Rancho El Agave Cantina y Cocina.
