About Us
Who we are
Agave Azul is third generation family-owned and operated restaurant that takes pride in sharing our culture and love of food with the community of the Roanoke Valley. We proudly welcome everyone to enjoy the great taste of Mexico.
On March 2001 the Lopez Family opened El Rodeo on Plantation Rd providing the Roanoke Valley with a buffet style Mexican Restaurant. We made a few changes for 2019 but just in all the right places. We rebranded, changed our name but not our style we are changing to better reflect the way you experience Mexican Food.
How we came to be
El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant was founded in 1986 by Antonio Lopez and his son Rigoberto Lopez. Before starting El Rodeo, Antonio lived in Asuza, California where he worked in a metal factory for twenty–six years. At the time, he earned 110 dollars working six days a week. He supported his family of ten on that weekly wage. He decided it was time to seek a better future for his family and decided to move to Atlanta, Ga. His first month in Atlanta he found work at a construction company. His son, Rigoberto Lopez, had been working at a Mexican restaurant in the area and ended up getting his father a job as a busboy. After working together for two months, Rigo urged Antonio to open a restaurant together. They took a few days off and traveled north stopping at multiple cities along the way looking for a potential business opportunity. The plan was to head to Pennsylvania, they ended up stopping in Roanoke, VA. They felt this was the best city for a new Mexican restaurant and found an old Rays King Burger on Williamson Road for rent. They opened the first Mexican restaurant In October of 1986 in Roanoke, Va.