When Paula Ehmke decided to get back into the Fort Lauderdale restaurant business, she was aware that Carlos & Pepe’s was an institution, its menu of unremarkable Mexican food beloved by locals for a remarkable 44 years.
Located on busy Southeast 17th Street in a strip center that somehow was still easy to overlook, the restaurant was a bunker of nostalgia, the weary air of better days hanging over its traditional red banquettes.
It just needed a little TLC and vitality, which Ehmke has in abundance. It didn’t hurt that, as its new owner, she also came to the table with an enthusiastic affection for the Mexican food she grew up preparing in Southern California.
“I’m a hugger. I love food and I love people,” Ehmke says.
Ehmke and husband Rich took ownership of the restaurant in June and formally unveiled the new Carlos & Pepe’s in October after a respectful remodel that balances the warmth of the old with contemporary updates that make for a brighter, more colorful and communal place to gather.
Some of the changes are large and dramatic: A wall was removed from the center of the restaurant, turning its dark, boxy dining nooks into a deep, open space that feels friendlier and more relaxing. The banquettes are now upholstered in the bold stripes of Mexican serapes.
In the front of the restaurant, an exterior wall has been opened up to create a bright and airy indoor-outdoor bar. A dozen TVs, both large and larger, are hung indoors and out to create a sports-bar atmosphere that somehow doesn’t overpower the rest of the dining room.
Storage areas have been transformed into exclusive dining spots, including one large event room with a long, wooden table that seats 18.
There also are smaller touches: Ehmke hunted down Mexican tile for the new outdoor bar that is nearly identical to the design of tile that has distinguished the restaurant’s entry for years. In a storage room, she discovered a trove of black-and-white photographs of mariachi musicians, which now hang prominently.
“I had heard things, but this is so much nicer than what I remember. It’s got a happy energy,” said Ginnie Wilson, of Hollywood, during a recent visit as a mariachi band played nearby.
The renovation, of course, extended to modernizing the menu, which was redesigned. A new chef was brought on, items that were not selling were pruned and more interesting West Coast flavors were added.
First-timers may quickly put Carlos & Pepe’s on their list of favorite local Mexican restaurants — the salsas are fresh and varied (ask about the fiery Devil’s Cojones), the C&P Crunch Wrap (a birria-topped burger inspired by the Taco Bell handheld) is inventive and delicious, and the piquant star of Salmon Al Pastor is spiced with expert restraint.
But “new and improved” is a subjective thing, and change did not sit well with some longtime regulars, who took their pitchforks to various online forums to vent.
With nearly two decades of experience in the Fort Lauderdale hospitality industry, Ehmke feels a special kinship to locals, the lifeblood of her business. But what could she do with customers who, metaphorically, were not hugging her back?
The other Hollywood
Paula Ehmke was born in Hollywood (the one in California) and, with a sunny smile and blonde hair, looks right out of 90210 central casting. She even got the football star — Rich Ehmke was a kicker who had a preseason cup of coffee with the Chicago Bears and played several years of arena-league football.
But Paula’s mother was an Ecuadorian immigrant and she was raised in East Los Angeles by a Mexican foster family, where lessons on how to prepare authentic Mexican food began in childhood.
“I grew up making rice and beans, carne asada, tamales, menudo, pozole, horchata,” she says. “Going to the mercados on the weekend, we would bring a pot and fill it up with soup and have it on our stove for two or three days. You’d add lime, onions, cilantro, with corn tortillas and dip it in. That’s where my love for Mexican food came from.”
Paula moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1993 with her college sweetheart, first husband John Hart, who was from Oakland Park. She soon became immersed in the Fort Lauderdale hospitality community, aligning herself with some of the area’s best-known restaurant owners.
She started as a server at Shooter’s, working with Aurel Lahaye and Reggie Moreau, then moved to Café Maxx under Darrel Broek and Oliver Saucy, followed by a stint with George Mayo at the original Bistro Mezzaluna.
She spent some time with Jack Mancini at Mancini’s on Las Olas Boulevard before heading back to Bistro Mezzaluna.
“Bistro was probably my best run. That was probably the best time I had here in South Florida,” Paula says.
After the economic downturn in 2008-2010 and a divorce, Paula went back to Southern California — “My life was like a country song,” she says, laughing — where she began a seven-year stint at Novo, an award-winning restaurant in downtown San Luis Obispo.
About six years ago, Paula decided she wanted to raise her youngest daughter back in South Florida. Rich, a SoCal native, agreed. With her daughter now about to move on to college, the timing seemed right to re-enter the restaurant business. They heard Carlos & Pepe’s was for sale.
In June, the Ehmkes took ownership of the restaurant from locals John and Sandy Benz, and business partner-manager Roberto Hernandez, who had been at the restaurant since it was opened in 1979 by Dave Alderman, also from California.
‘You have my word’
The Ehmkes acknowledge that the rollout of the new edition of the restaurant had some unfortunate wobbles. They went through two chefs before hiring Ricardo Flores, who has “turned our whole restaurant around,” Paula says.
While many of the classic Carlos & Pepe’s menu items remained on the new menu, others deemed too inauthentic were removed. For example, a mysterious beef-based brown gravy that would be right at home next to your grandma’s pot roast.
Rich, who grew up eating at hole-in-the-wall Mexican spots around San Diego and Los Angeles, quickly vetoed the brown gravy. Until someone “slapped me upside the head” and explained to him how passionate longtime C&P diners were about it. The menu now features enchiladas with “red, green or brown sauce.”
“We took our shots online. There were some that were BS, but others were well-deserved,” Rich says. “I get it, you go to your restaurant and there’s something you like and all of a sudden they take it off the menu. That sucks. I’ve been there. I said, ‘Listen, you have my word, give me a minute, we’ll get it right.’ ”
Fans of old favorites such as Tuna Dip, Pepe’s Burro, Carlos’ Crazy Burro and Super Nachos will be happy to know they are featured on the new menu.
Flores brings an eclectic background to his food: He was born in the U.S. and raised in Puerto Rico by Peruvian parents — his Peruvian-style ceviche features house-made leche de tigre marinade. He came to Carlos & Pepe’s after working as a consultant at Backyard BBQ & Brew, a kosher barbecue restaurant in Surfside, and at Ralph Pagano’s Naked Taco.
Flores visited Carlos & Pepe’s over the years and remembers it as “dark and dated.” He is excited about the evolution happening in the restaurant.
“They are on the right track. When I got here, they had taken some of the classics away. We got hell from the food critics on Google. Everybody’s a food critic now,” Flores says. “Little by little we’ve gotten them back.”
In fact, if you are looking for almost any menu item served at Carlos & Pepe’s in the last three decades, just ask. More than likely, the person who made your favorite dish back then is still in the kitchen at Carlos & Pepe’s.
The staff includes Jose “Leo” Salmeron, who has been at the restaurant for more than 30 years, Jonny Munguia-Padilla (a 27-year vet), his sister Cilia Munguia-Padilla (15) and Teodoro Alarcon (15).
“We have all the ingredients in house, we have the recipes, and we have Jonny and Cilia and Leo and Teodoro, who absolutely know how to make it. Just ask, we’ll make it,” Rich says.
Carlos & Pepe’s is at 1302 SE 17th St., Fort Lauderdale, and open for lunch, dinner and Saturday-Sunday brunch. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday. Visit CarlosAndPepesFL.com.
Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Instagram @BenCrandell and Twitter @BenCrandell.