Tex-Mex from a gas station? These home-cooked meals are a Mt. Sterling secret

A gas station just off of I-64 has been a way for travelers and locals to fill up in more ways than one. That’s because the building connected to the Marathon location has been home to some form of restaurant or eatery for years.

The space off exit 110 has been a couple different locally-owned concepts that closed. But Pablo’s Fresh Mex has become a fresh and flavorful addition that drivers and diners have fully embraced, singing its praises online with an average rating of 4.8 stars.

“We try to have everything fresh every day,” owner Alma Sapian said. “We try to cook everything the same day. The chips. Everything.”

Both the decor and the style of restaurant is something guests will find familiar upon entry.

The diner feel is leftover from the location’s Huddle House days and the fast-casual approach is reminiscent of other Tex-Mex chains like Chipotle, Qdoba or Moe’s.

Diners can construct their own custom creation based on Pablo’s various home-made ingredients, whether it is favorites like burritos, bowls, quesadillas or tacos (with the choice of soft, hard or corn tortillas) or throwing those ingredients in one of Pablo’s fresh-made taco bowls or on a pile of super nachos.

While the restaurant has been open since 2016, Pablo’s flavors go much farther back to the family-owned establishment’s Mexican roots. Alma Sapian, originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, said the original idea came from the restaurant’s initial owner, Caesar Sapian (the restaurant’s name comes from his pet chihuahua) and was the realization of Alma’s husband Sabino Olmeda’s (originally from Vera Cruz) dream of opening a restaurant.

“It’s based on Tex-Mex food,” Alma said. “We wanted to combine American food with our Mexican culture by adding our own homestyle recipes.”

Olmeda has cooked for most of his life and he brings that love to the kitchen as Pablo’s primary cook. He is at the restaurant making almost everything fresh every morning, marinating the chicken and steak in his own recipe or slow cooking the carnitas and shredded beef in the oven for six hours, not to mention the restaurant’s variety of homemade salsas, guacamole and pico de gallo.

“We have been to other restaurants similar to ours, but the flavor...it makes a big, big difference,” Alma said. “When we go out and try other things, that’s what we notice right away.”

Most of the offerings cost $9.25 and include every choice of cooked, made or chopped ingredients. Guacamole is available at no extra charge (unlike some popular chains) and diners can also pick from fresh-made habanero or mango salsa, queso dip or a few other atypical toppings cooked and constructed quickly.

“We found out a lot of lunch time (guests), they like to get their food really fast,” Alma said. “That’s another thing that they like. They don’t have to wait for long periods of time to get their food.”

The restaurant now offers hot wings, fajitas and shrimp as a protein with its meal at a slightly extra cost. It added chicken nuggets and fries to its kid’s menu that already offers mini versions of its popular dishes. Pablo’s also makes it a point to set up food stands at large outdoor Mt. Sterling events like First Fridays and its annual Court Days while establishing a booming catering business that serves people from Lexington to Maysville to Clay City.

“So far, everybody’s been giving us good compliments,” Alma said.

The restaurant has acquired a liquor license and now offers Olmeda’s margarita recipe and there is a patio that has proven to be a hit in the summer months.

Whether it is providing samples of various meats to new customers or providing a small play table and chalkboard for the smallest customers, Pablo’s Fresh Mex offers a combination of flavors and customer service intent on getting guests coming back for years to come, and not becoming another failed restaurant at the Marathon gas station.

“We were kind of thinking positive, trying to make our best all of the time,” Alma said. “That’s what is keeping us being open.”

Pablo’s Fresh Mex

Where: 712 Northview Drive, Mt. Sterling

When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon. - Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fri. - Sat.; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sun.

Online: Facebook.com/freshmexfu

Call: 859-432-1132

This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.