Community Highlights: Meet Anna Serrano of Spanglish

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anna Serrano.

Hi Anna, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Vicente and Anna Serrano began their journey while working together at a Health Spa in California. They moved to Michigan in 2002 to be closer to Anna”s family and start one of their own. They rented a kitchen and began selling tamales at the Indoor Farm Market at the Village at Grand Traverse Commons. The tamales were very popular and the couple began planning their next step. When the old Fire Station Building became available at the Grand Traverse Commons. The Serranos fell in love with its quant charm nested on the end of the woods next to a creek. Spanglish offers tacos (Voted Red Hot Best in. Traverse City), Burritos, Quesadillas and of course the tamales that started it all. They grew the business alongside of their young family. Over the years they have stayed committed to the community that has supported them. Spanglish is a Certified Green Restaurant committed to sustainability by offering compostable takeout containers, recycling and composting food waste. In 2024 Spanglish became a Recovery Friendly work place, offering support and jobs to people in active recovery and treatment for addiction.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Balance is difficult when raising a family and growing a business.

Covid was a difficult time for Spanglish we closed the dinning room and only offered curbside pick up through the worst years of the pandemic.

Inflation, uncertainty and the threat of tariffs offers new challenges for the restaurant industry.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Spanglish?
We offer many vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options on our menu. As well as Beef Barbagcoa, slow roasted pork and chicken for our tacos etc.

Spanglish’s recipes were developed by the Serranos and are unique to Spanglish.

We are family owned and operated sense 2013.

We are committed to offering a menu that nourishes. We do not have a fryer and do our best to offer healthful options.

What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Perseverance

Failure is not an option. We took a big risk opening our restaurant while raising a young family. We had to make the business work even our first summer, to pay our mortgage and afford summer camp for our kids.

Contact Info:

• Website: [email protected]
• Instagram: @spanglishtc
• Facebook: @spanglishtc