LIVING HERE
The BID (Business Improvement District) Interview:
“In Lake Geneva, we’ve got a lot of great customers and an amazing support network. Between both ‘Going Bananas’ and ‘Guac Star’ we have incredible customers. Not just tourists, but the locals have shown a lot of support for our restaurant(s). The business owners from Sopra, Tuscan, and Barrique come here to eat and drink. I also go to them for advice. At Tuscan, they even carry our menus at the restaurant, which I thought was crazy. In the restaurant industry that’s almost unheard of, but I appreciate it, and it means a lot. We had so many challenges when we opened Guac Star.
Originally, I wanted to open in May of 2022. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen because it took almost six months to get my restaurant equipment. I wanted all the equipment brand new. Every part of our kitchen was brought in new but it took forever for everything to arrive. The supply chain was so messed up due to COVID-19 that it delayed the opening for quite a while. Then, the day after Christmas last year, we had a flood in the restaurant. The good thing is, that we lease this space from Jennifer Keefe, and she supported us the whole way. Jennifer was willing to come help. She offered to help clean up, paint, whatever we needed. We told her, “We’ve got this. You relax,” which she did but it was refreshing to have her support when we needed it.
That’s what happens in business. Things happen that you can’t anticipate and you just kind of gotta roll with it. I wanted to keep Guac Star a non-traditional Mexican restaurant. A lot of Mexican restaurants are intimidating with large menus. At Guac Star, the menu is simple: tacos, burritos, and quesadillas – that’s it. It’s good, fast, and affordable. Not every family that comes to Lake Geneva can afford finer dining out here. At some restaurants, if you’ve got a family of six, you’re going to spend a couple hundred bucks going out to eat. Here you could spend 80 bucks and the whole family is still getting fresh, delicious, food at a more affordable price. The restaurant will be closed for the entirety of January 2024 for deep cleaning and to give its employees a well-deserved break.
Kevin Singh owner of Guac Star
