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It’s been just a few months since the Agheli family took over Alberto’s Cantina, a restaurant known as a staple in downtown Pleasanton, following the retirement of its founding owners.
Since then, Gabby Agheli said she and her family — who also own Baci Bistro and Bar and RoyalTEA Garden in Pleasanton — have been working on improving the quality of the food and planning for the future of the well-known Mexican eatery.
“The amount of positive feedback we got has been so amazing,” Agheli told the Weekly of the community’s response so far.
Located at 435 Main St., Alberto’s has been operating downtown for the past 33 years.
The restaurant was originally purchased by Alberto and Linda Palacios in 1992 — the two opened the establishment as newcomers that had never been in the restaurant business before, according to a Feb. 27 Facebook post by the business.
“After opening Friday, March 13, 1992 it was an auspicious start to a destination that would be a cornerstone of Main Street Pleasanton for years to come,” the Facebook post reads. “Through the years all of Alberto and Linda’s children have worked at the restaurant cementing the family atmosphere.”
In that same post, the Palacios also told the community it was time for them to step away from the restaurant so that they could enjoy their retirement.
“It is with the greatest pleasure that we got to be a part of serving each and every one of you,” the former owners said. “Every Main Street Fair, Good Guys car show, graduation celebration, football Sunday, the greatest Cinco De Mayo celebrations in Pleasanton and thousands of birthdays. The list could go on forever.”
When Agheli and her family first heard the news of the Palacios’ retirement, she said she knew they had to hop on the opportunity to take over the business. Now, four months later, she said they have finalized all of the paperwork.
Because Alberto’s is beloved in Pleasanton, Agheli said she and her family wanted to make sure they maintained all of the positive attributes that kept people returning to dine there for so many years.
However, she also said that after looking at the logistics of everything including customer feedback, they also wanted to consider what could be improved.
She said while they kept the menu the same, one of the first things they did coming in was throw away all of the canned food and make the switch to quality, fresh ingredients.
Agheli said her family prides themselves on quality of food, which has drawn customers to their other restaurants and is now drawing people to Alberto’s.
She said people who know her family because of Baci are even giving Alberto’s a try for the first time because of the Aghelis’ reputation.
Looking ahead, Agheli said she and her family are excited to expand the selection of spirits at Alberto’s to include finer, more exclusive tequilas. She said the family is also eventually planning on renovating the restaurant a bit in order to give it a “facelift.”
“Right now it’s just getting the fundamentals of what was there and making it the best right now and eventually more and new items will be added as well,” Agheli said.
