I Am Nacho Mama closing Port Washington restaurant, relocating to Georgia

It's the end of the (Long Island) road for I Am Nacho Mama — the lively family-run Mexican fusion restaurant will close its Port Washington location Wednesday, chef-owner Carlos Juarez said, following the Hicksville location's closure in January.

Juarez said his family is moving south to Brunswick, Georgia, where they're opening the next iteration of I Am Nacho Mama next month. The move came after a stress-related health condition prompted Juarez to pull the plug on the Hicksville restaurant. Then, he said, the Port Washington landlords offered "an out" on the remaining four years of the lease there as the opportunity came up in Georgia. The family embraced the chance for change.   

"It's a much slower pace out here — very slow — it takes a little while to get used to, but the people are just lovely and there's a growing buzz about this new New York restaurant opening up in Georgia that feels right. All the arrows were pointing in the same direction,” Juarez said.

I Am Nacho Mama began as a food truck in East Meadow before opening a Hicksville shop in 2019. Last August, the restaurant’s second location opened on Port Washington's Main Street, serving a menu full of Latin fare inspired by countries such as Mexico, Guatemala (where Juarez is from), Puerto Rico (where his wife, Yvette, is from) and Spain (where both of their grandparents are from). “The heart of our cooking comes from our home kitchen. We have all these wonderful cuisines that we mix and match, so our restaurants are an extension of that fusion,” Juarez said at the time.

The spot served favorites like the sloppy dog and Mama’s pork ribs, prepared with a salt and lime rub or barbecue sauce. But it was the restaurant’s customizable nachos that drew rabid fans. The thick, crunchy totopos didn’t wilt under the weight of toppings, be they grilled or barbecued chicken, slow-roasted pernil (pork), Portuguese steak (picanha), salmon or the aforementioned ribs. Tacos, bowls, burritos, quesadillas and empanadas rounded out the menu, and everything from the chunky guacamole to their many salsas were made in-house daily.

Surrounded by farms in their new Georgia environs, Juarez said he's looking forward to "focusing on the beautiful, healthy, local food that we are surrounded with here, through a Latino lens. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see a bunch of familiar faces coming through on I-95.”

I Am Nacho Mama, 42 Main St., Port Washington, 516-516-893-4446, iamnachomama.com

By Marie Elena Martinez

marieelena.martinez@newsday.com@mariesworlds

A global freelancer who has checked her suitcase to raise her young daughter on her native Long Island, Marie Elena will always make time for good mezcal, even better tacos and killer conversation. Preferably, in a corner bar seat. She can be found on Instagram at @mariesworldeats.