Encore, Willard Krieble  Spring 1992

In search of a celebration?

Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May) is just around the corner, and the festivities begin this weekend in North Wales.  Okay, so maybe you don’t exactly recall the 1862 Battle of Pueblo, during which Mexican troops. Out-numbered three-to-one, defeated Napoleon’s invading French Army.

Think of it as Independence Day for Mexico.  Then free yourself and your family for some fun at the Tex Mex Connection grand re-opening, at 201 E. Walnut St. in North Wales.

The celebration begins Sunday with a liberal search – a road rally.  For $15 you show up bright and early in your car (registration is from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.), and receive an assortment of fresh fruit, danish, and coffee or tea along with a set of puzzling directions and scavenger hunt list.  Follow the directions around the roads of Bucks and Montgomery counties, answering questions and gathering items on your list.  Then, make your way back to the restaurant for Sunday brunch and prizes.

“The Road Rally is not a race,” explains restaurant owner Jane Keyes.  “It’s a course run from vague directions requiring a certain amount of deductive reasoning and navigational skills.”

During the brunch, which runs from 11:30 a.m.to 2:30 p.m., the Markley Band, which has been listed among the nation’s top 20 jazz bands and has three albums out, will entertain. 

“We plan to make brunches and the jazz entertainment weekly events,” says Keyes.  Brunch includes muffins, fruit cup, beverage, dessert and an entrée.  Among the entrée choices are Mexican French Toast, tostadas, and Mexican omelets. 

Other Cinco de Mayo activities include a performance by comedy magician Bryan Dean on Monday evenings between 6 and 8 p.m.  Dinners will be served in the newly expanded 100-seat dining area as well as in the downstairs eight-table cantina.  The new menu includes children’s specials that average around $3.  Kids can choose peanut butter and jelly tortilla roll-ups, hamburgers, or chicken fingers, for example.

“We try to keep it healthy, with carrot and celery sticks for munchies.  We’d like to make it a family night,” says Keyes.

On Tuesday, the fifth, the restaurant is offering a five-course, fixed price meal ($19.95) full of special items that don’t usually appear on the menu.  Customers will be treated to the music of a strolling mariachi guitarist.  “WE plan three soups, three salads, sorbet, entrees that originate from the different regions of Mexico, and dessert,” Keyes notes.

Why all the hoopla?  In addition to the Mexican holiday, Jane, her father William Keyes, and cousin Anthony Mallozzi want to say thanks to the public for being patient during the year-long remodeling. 

The family-owned enterprise started as the Wales Junction Tavern about 10 years ago, notes Bill Keyes.  When his daughter returned home eight years ago after living in Texas for several years, she maintained her liking for authentic Mexican food.

“That’s when I got the idea to open a restaurant,” she says.  In the beginning, Keyes did all the cooking.  She prepared the menu, adapting cookbook recipes to her own tastes.  Over the years, she added some of her customers’ recipes to the menu.

Gradually, she removed herself from kitchen duties and today she relies on Mike Klaiber, who does all the “heavy” cooking during the day, and Joe Wurtz, who manages the kitchen in the evenings.  “We’re getting new ideas, now,” says Keyes.  “The other night Joe made swordfish with a gazpacho sauce that was out of this world.”

“The restaurant was slow taking off,” recalls Bill Keyes.  “But after people sampled the food and saw how different and how fresh it was. They kept coming back.  Eventually we saw we’d have to expand.  And so the Tex Mex Connection grew from 45 seats to a 100-seat dining room and a cantina.  “We put into two new kitchens, air conditioning, the works,” says Bill Keyes.  “And during all that work,” adds his daughter, “we remained open.  Our customers came anyway.  This celebration is our way of saying thanks.”

If you go, reservations are recommended.  For more information, call 699-9552.

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