MOSES LAKE — Suced Yusso is a new restaurateur in Moses Lake, opening the Cactus restaurant downtown at 212 S. Division Street. Yusso's passion for food, along with her enjoyment of serving people, led her to start a restaurant.

"I love working with families, with customers, and I want to offer a little bit of my Mexican food for the residents of Washington," Yusso said.

The restaurant offers a mix of Mexican and American cuisines, including seafood, beef, and chicken dishes. Yusso emphasized the importance of family involvement in running the restaurant, with her husband and three sons helping out in all aspects of the business, and a waitress, who Yusso said she has raised like a daughter since she was six years of age. In the kitchen, Yusso hired two cooks, each with 18 years of experience.

Yusso said she applied for a liquor license and once received will host karaoke Friday and Saturday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight.

"We need to have some fun, you know, eat some delicious food and have some fun," she said. "I'm planning to do this, so they feel like family when they come here, eat good food and have a good time, and sing their favorite song."

A soft opening for Cactus was held on July 15 and now the restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The interior has a warm feel, with the walls painted a cactus green and dark green rough textured panels painted to break up the color on either side. The ceiling is painted black, with circular rows of recessed lighting, and a slate floor, providing a well-lit but not overly lighted atmosphere. A series of three larger tables for groups of eight are in the center of the open dining room, and smaller four-top tables are positioned adjacent to the walls. The kitchen is at the far end of the restaurant next to a small three-seat bar. 

Yusso was born in the western coastal city of Los Mochis, in northern Sinaloa, Mexico and has incorporated the cuisine of her heritage into the menu. Los Mochis is renowned for its seafood specialties and traditional Sinaloa flavors with signature dishes like aquachile, which is served at the restaurant, a citrus ceviche-style dish with shrimp, lime and chili served with tostadas; cocktail de camaron, a traditional ceviche with shrimp marinated in lime, cucumber, cilantro, serrano pepper, and read onion served in a large glass goblet. Another shrimp dish on the menu is the camarones a la cucaracha, shrimp with red salsa, avocado and cucumber. And they offer fish and shrimp tacos. 

Other more popular Mexican dishes on the menu are: quesabirrias, tacos, burritos, tortas, and enchiladas, ranchero chicken. They have a section of specialty dishes like papas rellenas, a creamy mashed potato filled with your choice of meat; cactus carne asada, gorditas, a thick tortilla filled with meat of choice, sour cream, lettuce, tomato and cotija cheese; mulitas, soft corn tortillas with choice of meat; and Maruchan con birria, made with noodles and meat. 

Yusso proudly states that the tortillas are made in-house every day, as are her homemade batches of refreshing drinks like horchata, made of rice milk and cinnamon; pineapple and watermelon fruit drinks; and a cucumber and lemonade drink. Yusso changes the drinks she makes each day to offer a variety throughout the week.

Yusso said she worked closely with the two cooks, Rufina Sanchez and Maria Teresa Salazar, to create the menu, which is ambitious in the depth of dishes offered, while drawing upon her family recipes and food that she grew up with in Los Mochis, particularly the seafood dishes.

The restaurant business is one of the most competitive and difficult businesses to succeed in, and Moses Lake certainly has its fair share of Mexican restaurants, but that has not deterred Yusso.

"We are a business family. We like business a lot," she said. One of her sons also recently opened a barber shop in Moses Lake.

As for managing a restaurant for the first time and the challenges that come with it, Yusso responded with her ever present positive attitude. "Yes, it's a challenge, but I do it with a lot of love," she said, "and I'm sure that's good, because I want to offer for my people here the best food and the best service."

Preparing for its opening, Yusso said the interior of the building was completely renovated.

"Everything is new," she said. "We put in a new kitchen, everything. We renovated the whole building."

Behind the scenes is Yusso's husband Luis Guerrero, who maintains a low profile, but is very much involved in running the restaurant along with their three sons, who, Yusso said, wash dishes, cook and do "everything." 

Suced and Luis have been married for 36 years and grew up in the same neighborhood two streets apart. They came to the U.S. in 1989, living in Indiana but soon moving to Washington as Guerrero pursued work in agriculture.

Guerrero recounted his journey from Indiana to Bridgeport, Washington, where he and his friend looked to work at an apple orchard in Bridgeport, but instead found employment in Moses Lake. He accidentally got off at an exit to Moses Lake when driving to Bridgeport, and they both liked the town. They drove on to Bridgeport but were too late – the apple season had ended two weeks earlier, so they decided to return to Moses Lake.

"We came back to Moses Lake, and we went to the unemployment office that day," Guerrero said. "We found a job and they sent us out, and while we were working, we were talking about where we're going to stay, and some ladies that used to work in that place, they helped us out that night to find a place to live, and I know we were strangers for them, but they helped us even to collect some money to put a down payment on an apartment. I guess it was fate for my wife and myself, you know, to stay here. We love this town right from the beginning. And here we are 36 years later."

Guerrero said he quickly adapted to living in the U.S. and learned English through television and integrating into the community. 

"I'm a fast learner," he said. "And we learned how to speak English just watching TV. So, at the beginning, it was hard because all we had to do was just listen. I adjusted my hearing, and then I started talking words a little bit by a little bit and then spoke very well." 

Moving forward, Guerrero said they are ready to meet the challenges of running a new restaurant.  

"It is a challenge every day," he said, smiling. "But I like it. She likes to stay busy all the time. We are up to the challenge. It's going to be hard at the beginning, but here we go. Time will tell."

    Cactus restaurant waitress Destiny Sanchez carries out an order of papas rellenas, mashed potato with carne asada.
  

    The Cactus restaurant has a newly built kitchen and two experienced cooks, Rufina Sanchez (right) and Maria Teresa Salazar, both with 18 years of experience in the kitchen cooking Mexican cuisine.
  

    The interior of the Cactus restaurant was completely renovated and painted.
  

Luis Guerrero, Cactus owner Suced Yusso's husband, is involved in running the restaurant behind the scenes.