Auburn University alumnus Jason Berger is opening a new restaurant on Magnolia Street called En Fuego Tapas Lounge.
After getting a call from his friend Mike Slocum about the open space, Berger decided to return to Auburn to open the restaurant. Berger said Slocum wanted him and his company, Escape Restaurant Group, to open the restaurant.
"We thought about what Auburn wanted, or what Auburn does not have and how to put it in this huge space," Berger said.
The 11,000-square-foot restaurant will have two floors, a sit-down fine dining area upstairs and a lunch, happy hour and lounge area downstairs.
Berger returned to Auburn approximately a month ago for the construction of En Fuego. With football season in full swing, he said he wanted to open as soon as possible.
"Our timeline has been compressed to less than a month," Berger said. "If you ask anybody to open up a restaurant in a month they'll tell you you're crazy. But we have to do it; we have to work as hard as we can."
En Fuego will be open this week for a private VIP event with Auburn University basketball coach Tony Barbee, but Berger said he wants to be open for everyone by Sept. 22 for the Auburn vs. LSU football game.
En Fuego will only have the first floor in use when it first opens, giving them time to finish the second floor.
"It's stressful just trying to put everything together, but I think it's going to be so worth it," Berger said.
The accelerated opening schedule makes for more than just stress. The amount of hours and work spent on the job have also been taking their toll.
"I always thought coming back to Auburn I'd have so much fun, but it's not fun," Berger said. "All I do is come to work from 5 to 12 a.m., go home and sleep and do it again," Berger said.
Even when he is out of the office and restaurant, Berger said he is still working.
"Normally I'm on the phone a lot, on the computer a lot, texting a lot and watching to make sure everything is going right," Berger said.
Despite its Spanish name, Berger said the restaurant is not just a place to come and eat tacos.
"I stand outside on the front and people come by and say, 'oh, it's a taco place coming in here, that's a big thing,'" Berger said. "It's much, much more than just tacos. It's not strictly Spanish, but we want to bring something with a spin."
The menu will feature many different varieties and styles of food on tapas, or small plates.
The tapas allow customers to try a variety of foods and share with their friends and family, Berger said.
Along with having delicious food, Berger wants En Fuego to be known as having a great atmosphere that entices people to come and spend time.
"We want to have awesome food," Berger said. "Food that makes people ask if you've tried it, and then when you get here make you want to hang out because there's a cool vibe to the place."
Berger said while he was attending Auburn, there were only three or four bars.
"If you want to get a great meal, come here," he said. "If you want to hang out with your friends, also come here. It's not your run-of the-mill college bar."
He said if he ever came back it would be to open another bar and restaurant.
"This is us coming back and giving it a shot to see what happens," Berger said. "I hope we'll be received well. Get ready."
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