Around The Bend: Hacienda Mexican Restaurant
Historic roots, legendary recipes…and maybe a few lingering spirits. 👻
The original Hacienda Mexican Restaurant isn’t just a Mishawaka favorite — it’s a flavor-filled landmark where time (and taste) stand still.
The Famous Wet Burrito and iconic house made ranch have kept amigos coming back for decades...some may have never left!
Take an exciting and spooky look at the historic Hacienda house in this episode of Around The Bend.
Around The Bend takes a deeper look into the stories of beloved favorites and hidden gems throughout St Joseph County that make this place unforgettable. These places we cherish didn’t just appear—they were built with passion, purpose, and stories worth telling.
Historic Roots and Fiesta Flavors
Walking up to the original Hacienda Mexican Restaurant is a bit different than its counterparts. Maybe the experience starts as you turn onto the brick road that still runs through the 100 Center in Mishawaka. Maybe it’s the looming shell of a brewery and its smokestack in the distance. But certainly, it’s walking up to have dinner in a house.
The first Hacienda restaurant found its home in the historic house that belonged to the owners of Kamm and Schellinger Brewery. Both the brewery and the house on its property were built in 1853.
During prohibition the brewery changed its operations to K&S Root Beer, Arrow Cereal Beverage, soda and distilled water. The company closed its doors in 1951.
The 1853 house was repurposed for other businesses to include a dentist office, a Mediterranean restaurant, and then finally in 1978, Hacienda found its home.
The Hacienda brand rapidly expanded, opening multiple locations spread across Northern Indiana, Kokomo, and Evansville.
What’s the secret sauce to being a local favorite for 47 years? Well, I can assure you it’s in the ranch, as well as their special burrito sauce—but we’ll get to that later.
“I think it’s the consistency that we have,” shared Senior Marketing Director, Cody Jackson. “The freshness of our food. You always know when you come to get that wet burrito it’s going to be the exact same. And the frozen margaritas we haven’t changed in decades. And the salsa. Everyone loves the salsa that we haven’t changed since almost day one. So, everyone loves that consistency and it just reminds you of your childhood growing up at Hacienda.”
Many locals can attest to having numerous memories of going to Hacienda. Whether it’s simply for their favorite menu item, a birthday, celebrating a tournament win, even wedding receptions. Too many fiestas to count.
“People can come and celebrate and know where they are. Just know they’re at Hacienda. We’re going to be here the next 47 years just giving those memories to people.”
Serving memories, a little nostalgia, and certainly, an iconic cult following of their house made ranch.
“We love our ranch around here. It’s an Indiana thing.”
To readers that haven’t experienced the ranch with chips—just trust us. Some have techniques in dipping style. Dip your chip in the ranch, then in the salsa. You can mix up the salsa but don’t add the salsa to the ranch!
The ranch is made fresh daily, as are the salsa and the chips. It is someone’s entire job to make fresh chips all day, every day.
Be warned, you might eat the entire bowl and ask for more.
Fresh ingredients are something Hacienda prides itself on, as well as their secret sauces. Not only is the ranch a secret, but the sauce that makes the Famous Wet Burrito a famous item on the menu has a special sauce that keeps you coming back for more.
“The wet burrito was one of the first things we ever made and it’s just the classic that everyone loves…it’s the same thing every single time.”
Delicious food needs to be paired with an equally delicious drink. Hacienda’s cantina serves up a whole array of cocktails, to include their fan favorite margaritas.
Is your mouth watering? It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!
“It’s never too early for a margarita.”
Their regular lime margarita is most ordered, followed by strawberry and orange. Be sure to ask what’s on the menu for the day—they have a rotating lineup. If you want to be a little adventurous, they have a whole menu of signature cocktails to include their “Blue Parrot,” “El Diablo,” and they can also blend frozen margs with beer! Ask for the lunar iceberg.
Adventure is something you can look forward to walking into any Hacienda, but particularly the historic house. Some think there are some “amigos” that never left.
“Throughout the years there have been many people that work here that have said yes, they’ve seen things, felt things, heard things. We’ve actually had some paranormal teams come in and kind of look at things…there are some stories about a maid in the attic that actually passed away. There’s the little boy in the basement that walks around. There are all kinds of stories.”
A classic story is the water from the faucets in the upstairs bathroom will inexplicably turn on and off.
“There’s an older civil war style person that someone saw in the basement too. Just being a really old building from the 1850s, just all walks of life around here.”
Some think they see someone up in the attic while doing a parameter check, or as they’re driving by on the street.
But are these just spooky tales?
“Our paranormal team that came in about five years ago said there’s no actual evidence that someone has died in this house. But there is evidence that people have died on this property back in the brewery and stuff like that. Someone fell off the smokestack so I think that might be a little bit of the lore too.”
As we filmed, we did experience some oddities with our microphones, but we explored a bit and had no other experiences. And that is certainly the norm for visitors at the restaurant.
If you celebrate Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) as Hacienda surely does, maybe now is the perfect time to visit the old home. The ambiance in all Hacienda restaurants during this time is special. You’ll find ofrendas (altars) honoring passed loved ones in the lobbies, papel picado (colorful banners), calaveras (sugar skulls), marigolds and more.
This is a particularly decorative time, but the restaurants are vibrant and colorful all year long. Each restaurant is adorned with original paintings created by Jeff Leslie, the president of Hacienda at the time he retired. If you find the initials JDL in the bottom corner, you’ve found an original.
In the original restaurant, you’ll find hub caps covering the ceiling and bottle caps covering the cantina of the addition that was added onto the house. It is truly a unique vibe. If you sit along the large windows, you can see the former Kamm and Schellinger Brewery.
Decades later, the original Hacienda still delivers the familiar flavors and warm atmosphere generations have come to love.
Some things never change—and that’s exactly how they like it.
Visit the original Hacienda Mexican Restaurant: 706 Lincolnway W., Mishawaka, IN 46544
RELATED CONTENT: For more spooky stories of haunted happenings in St. Joseph County, check out Stranger South Bend
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