Amazonia in Lakewood Has New Owners

This past February, Juan Vergara announced the sudden closure of the Barroco restaurants in Lakewood and Westlake. He also indicated, at that time, that Hola Tacos and Amazonia likely would be transferred into the hands of “good operators” in the near future. This past May we learned that Hola Tacos was sold to longtime staffer Margarita Reyes, who has worked with the Vergara family since moving here from Colombia in 2017. And now we have learned that Amazonia in Lakewood is under new management as well, with co-owners Magdalena Medica and Juan Sebastian Albornoz Ramirez taking charge.

“I have been running Amazonia for the past 10 months,” says Ramirez. “We started talking with Juan in February and we became owners on May 1st.”

Medica and Ramirez have been a work couple since Cordelia’s earliest days. Many of the changes they have in store for Amazonia have been on the drawing board since they first arrived. These are not wholesale changes to the name, concept, food or beverage programs, but rather adjustments that clarify the vision.

“When I came here Amazonia was viewed as a pizza shop that served cocktails, and there was a little bit of a dichotomy with that because it was a pizza shop that didn’t allow people under 21 inside the house because of the alcohol,” Ramirez explains. “Now we are a cocktail bar with food as opposed to a restaurant with great cocktails.”

With respect to the vibe, the pair have eased away from the explorer theme and toward Latin American house. They’ve added “whimsical pieces and parts” that invoke the magical realism of Gabriel García Márquez. They ditched the QR codes and returned to physical, paper menus.

With respect to the drinks, guests should no longer expect to wait for a cocktail garnished with ants on a stick. Now, “it’s more of a new school-style of cocktails with Latin American flavors and inspiration,” says Medica. “When you walk into Amazonia there is a vibe to it. You want to carry that vibe to the drinks, and not just how the place looked.”

In the kitchen, wood-fired pizzas are still the stars of the show, but guests can expect a wider range of small plates that extend beyond the Mediterranean. There are also more vegan and vegetarian friendly options.

Going forward, both the food and cocktail menus will be change seasonally, with two major changes per year.

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