Joel Rodriguez, 47, has deep roots in Polk County and family stories that keep him connected to his Mexican heritage — now, his family is sharing their culinary traditions at Margarita’s Cocina Mexicana, 4715 S. Florida Ave., formerly Ovation Bar & Bistro.
Joel and his brother Fernando, 44, are business partners with five restaurants in Polk County: two Ovation Bar & Bistros, now three Margarita’s Cocina Mexicanas, one was previously Social on Cypress.
The original Ovation opened in 2014 in Davenport. Three Ovation Bistro & Bar locations later, Joel decided to take a chance on another concept in 2024. “I already had this plan in the books,” Joel said, to open a Mexican restaurant to honor his mother, Margarita, who grew up in China, Nuevo León, about 30 or 40 minutes northeast of Monterrey, Mexico, “depending on how bad the road is on that week,” Joel said…