The Red Apple Place
Ricardo, owner of the Red Apple Place, grew up on his family’s apple orchard in Zacatlan, Puebla, situated in central Mexico. The area is known for its production of cider and fruit wines, as well as apples. As a child, he would help his grandfather harvest the “perfectly delicious” apples from the trees and carefully pack them, bottoms up, ready for market.
Ricardo met his lovely wife, Veronica, in California, and they were married in Guadalajara. There, they lived for the next eight years. Ricardo worked in specialty kitchens; Japanese sushi, Italian food, and a gourmet steakhouse, always learning by asking the chef questions, “What is in this dish? What do you use to flavour this?”. Together, Ricardo and Veronica eventually settled in Bucerias and opened Red Apple Place in October, 2000, where Ricardo says, “Now I mix everything.” The charming couple have three children you may meet as they each work various shifts at the restaurant.
About The Red Apple Place
We attend regularly and enjoy their breakfast as a favourite morning date; the food, the view, magnificent. In fact, we are such constant customers, Dennis’ order is consistent and requires no menu, Veronica confirming his regular “pancake and fruit”, with a nod and a “por favor” from Dennis. Somewhere along the way, we caught inklings of certain scheduled meetings that take place here.
We recently stopped Ricardo as he strolled along the street, and we exchanged warm handshakes and Happy New Year salutations. In chatting, I relayed the rumour we’d heard about the Red Apple Place being a meeting spot for different social groups, inquiring in particular about “the group that meets for Happy Hour on Mondays.” We asked his permission to cover the event in our news, and he graciously agreed. He gave us a bit of background information on the Monday crowd, and bid us on our way, “Buenas Tardes, amigos.”
The next Monday…
We attended the following Monday, determined to delve into the purpose of this congregation of friends who continued to frequent the regularly scheduled occasion. We found an endless stream of attendees, popping up at the top of the stairs and pulling seating and tables together. Upon finding a moment to introduce us, Ricardo, bless his heart, asked for the crowd’s attention and, with a very generous introduction, announced, “This is Kelly. She and her husband write local online news and would like to do a story and talk with you as a group.” It was a kick to chat with the Monday Happy Hour crowd, learning of their individual backgrounds and their combined history, and they had many kind words about their hosts: “We all come here because we love the Red Apple!” “We like their Happy Hour prices, and the food is fantastic.” “Quite often, many of us stay for dinner. Ricardo and his staff provide great service and delicious, high quality food.” “Ricardo and Veronica are always so welcoming, and engage with their patrons with sincerity.” “Jonathan and Isaac remember our names and our drinks.” “We are social animals. We need the involvement.”
As the excitement accelerates, and the noise of fun and camaraderie trickle down to the street below, more people climb the stairs to discover what is going on. And, we can’t omit the fact there’s an amazing sunset view. In fine tuning our story, we visited the Red Apple Place once again, this time on a Friday afternoon, just to clarify some questions. We came upon a different, large, organized group that was playing Bridge. Ricardo remarks, “I don’t know what it is they are doing, but as they play cards and change seats around the tables, it looks like they’re having fun.”
The Red Apple gang just goes with the flow.
The apple orchard is still in the family today. Ricardo explains, “Time brings changes, and there are now different kinds of apples, and over time, the trees are shorter and easier to harvest.” The family takes pride in delivering quality service with their wide variety of food and drinks. You must try their signature breakfast, The Red Apple House Omelet…you won’t eat again until dinner. They are located on the third floor, at the corner of Lazero Cardenas #36, and Morelos, open everyday from 8:00am to 10:00pm during the high season, closing early on Sundays.
