Eliseo Gutierrez of Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant came to Destin on vacation in 1997 and decided this was the place he wanted to live. Originally from Jalisco, Mexico, Eliseo had grown up cooking and eating traditional Mexican food and noticed a need for the flavors of his roots in the Destin area.
“I always liked the kitchen,” Eliseo said of his youth. “I was always working on recipes, even today I make all of my own recipes. I have been perfecting my sauces and dishes throughout the years.”
Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant opened in Destin in 2000, and immediately became a Destin staple. Even before the doors officially opened, Eliseo said locals were there ready to support his business.
“I feel very welcome in this community,” Eliseo said. “From day one, people visited and asked when we were going to open. Then later, people always said they loved the food, the menu and everything. I am really thankful for the community.”
Wanting to incorporate the local cuisine into his offerings, Eliseo began to create dishes using local shrimp, red snapper and other seafood specialties. He explained that local seafood fits his philosophy of fresh, never frozen or canned ingredients in order for the food to maintain its best flavor and quality.
"Something I am very proud of is that all of our dishes here at Pepito's are made from scratch, from fresh ingredients because you can taste the difference," Eliseo said. "I worked for other Mexican restaurants before I opened my own, and I had a vision of how I could be different. They were focused only on traditional Mexican food, but I wanted to offer a step up from that and offer a little bit more.”
So from day one, in addition to traditional Mexican dishes such as pozole, fajitas and corn husk tamales, Pepito’s also offers fried red snapper, rib-eye and Gulf shrimp, burgers and even shrimp spaghetti.
The most popular dishes at Pepito’s vary from season to season, but General Manager Diyana Nikolova said their queso is always a huge hit, as well as their specialty whole fried snapper and of course their fajitas and tacos.
“Everybody is welcome in Pepitos,” Diyana said. “We often get large groups here, and some of them might not be in the mood for Mexican food, so we have something for every palate. We also have a gluten-free menu and vegetarian options as well.”
Following its success in Destin, Pepito’s opened three additional restaurants, originally having two in Destin, one in Niceville in 2011, and one in Fort Walton Beach in 2015. Each location had its own flair, but each made customers and employees feel right at home.
"We are like one big family," Diyana said of the atmosphere at Pepito's. "Eliseo treats everybody like family, so that trust and loyalty has led us to have employees that have been with us for more than 17 years."
Over the years, the small hometown Mexican restaurant has evolved with the times to offer a more upscale dining motif, embracing the modern look and feel of quality coastal dining.
“We are a very upscale, clean and polished Mexican restaurant,” Diyana said. “We defer from the traditional colorful look of most Mexican restaurants. Just like our food, we want to offer something a bit different and unique.”
“I worked for other Mexican restaurants before I opened my own, and I had a vision of how I could be different,” Eliseo said.