This past February, Juan Vergara announced the sudden closure of the Barroco restaurants in Lakewood and Westlake. He also indicated, at that time, that Hola Tacos and Amazonia likely would be transferred into the hands of “good operators” in the near future. This past May we learned that Hola Tacos was sold to longtime staffer Margarita Reyes, who has worked with the Vergara family since moving here from Colombia in 2017. And now we have learned that Amazonia in Lakewood is under new management as well, with co-owners Magdalena Medica and Juan Sebastian Albornoz Ramirez taking charge.
“I have been running Amazonia for the past 10 months,” says Ramirez. “We started talking with Juan in February and we became owners on May 1st.”
Medica and Ramirez have been a work couple since Cordelia’s earliest days. Many of the changes they have in store for Amazonia have been on the drawing board since they first arrived. These are not wholesale changes to the name, concept, food or beverage programs, but rather adjustments that clarify the vision…