El Guacamole II Brings Fresh Mexican Cuisine To Ocean City

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The Herrera family loves Ocean City. They have plenty of great memories as visitors. Now that they've opened a Mexican restaurant in town, the Herrera's are going to be in Ocean City more often.

Eric and Paulina Herrera founded El Guacamole in Millville. They opened their second location Aug. 29 at E. 14th Street, a few blocks away from the ocean.

The Herrera's always liked Ocean City because of its status as a popular tourist destination and proximity to Atlantic City.

"We used to come to Ocean City for the Boardwalk and the attractions with the kids," Paulina said. "It gave us a lot of good memories. We always liked Ocean City."

Their two sons and one daughter are also involved in the business. They help out wherever they may be needed in the restaurant, including washing dishes, chopping vegetables and working the front end. The Herrera's taught their children to work hard to get what they want.

El Guacamole II offers both a lunch and dinner menu, both of which are slimmer than the menu at the Millville El Guacamole. While El Guacamole II is a bigger establishment, the Millville location takes reservations and is BYOB.

They offer three uniquely flavored waters with the color schemes representing the colors of the Mexican flag, according to Paulina. The Jamaica is a red hibiscus flower tea. The Horchata is a white rice water topped with cinnamon The Pepino is a cucumber-flavored drink with a hint of melon that is naturally green in color.

"El Guacamole II's mission is to continue providing good service to our customers and have repeat business," Eric said.

Everybody starts with homemade guacamole and chips. According to the Herreras, chimichangas and fajitas are two of the more popular dishes at the restaurant. They have remained very busy since opening. The Herreras are hoping to stay open all year round, but that decision remains to be seen with the winter off-season approaching.

"We are happy to see empty dishes come back to the kitchen, and we wish for the happiness of our customers," Paulina said.

Their products are fresh and locally sourced from farms near Millville. Eric picks vegetables up personally from the farmers and brings them back to the restaurant for the day's prep. During the winter, he travels to Philadelphia for his vegetable source. Eric only uses Mexican avocados because they are they best, he said.

El Guacamole in Millville opened three years ago and since then they have been awarded the New Jersey Critics Choice Award in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Millville also awarded El Guacamole a Partnership Award for contributions made to the community in 2018.

There was however one small but significant change made before El Guacamole II was established.

The avocado in the logo was altered.

"I changed the logo of the sign before we opened," Eric said. "I figured we were close to the shore, I put the avocado on a surfboard and the kids love it."

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