New restaurant opens in Weiser features authentic Mexican cuisine

Owners, Chef Sean Covos and Mary Kramer have opened a Mexican restaurant inside the old Judy’s Weiser In building. Both Covos and Kramer have extensive restaurant experience and are proud to bring good authentic Mexican cuisine to the Weiser area.
 Both Covos and Kramer grew up in Mountain Home. They were long time friends who even shared their first job together at Arby’s.
 This last spring by chance, Covos and Kramer were quarantined together and discovered that a childhood friendship could be more. As they started talking about Covos’ dream of opening his own restaurant, Kramer had the perfect suggestion.
 Kramer had worked as a caregiver in Weiser and one of her client’s favorite restaurants had been Judy’s Weiser In. Kramer suggested Covos contact Judy Sterling and they all decided pretty quickly that it would be the perfect fit for everyone.
 Covos has wanted to be a chef for as long as he can remember. His grandfather had been a chef at a Mexican restaurant and taught him how to cook and he has always loved working with food.
 Covos went to culinary art school and then took some advanced training in San Francisco before taking a job with the Hyatt.
 While working for the Hyatt, Covos gained extensive experience working at five star restaurants, banquets, and events. He also worked and traveled in a few different locations including Beverly Hills and even Capitol Hill next to the Whitehouse.
 While working as a chef, Covos worked closely with a French chef who always called him Mon Amie. It became a nickname and Covos thought it would make a good name for a restaurant. When he decided to open a Mexican restaurant he kept the meaning “my friend” with “Mi Amigo.”
 Covos’ vision for Mi Amigo is to have authentic and good food, but also simple and consistently executable.
 The two main inspirations for the food on the menu are direct from his grandfather’s recipes. The red chili sauce was the first thing he learned to cook, and living in San Diego he grew to love the taco trucks.
 The opening in Weiser has been a challenge. The two shared that they were shocked by the demand for a Mexican restaurant in Weiser. They ran out of food during lunch the first day and almost ran out the second day.
 “It’s been keeping me up at night,” Covos said. “I hope people are understanding as we get all the kinks worked out and continue to support us. We really want to make Weiser home for a long time.”
 Kramer has also worked in a variety of restaurants as a hostess and waitress and several other jobs so she will be managing the front end and working out front while the chef works his magic in the back. She will also be going back to school studying holistic medicine and hopes to be able to run her own business in the future as well.
 They also have a little extra help from a familiar face as they get started. Sterling is helping them learn the ropes of running a successful restaurant in Weiser for the first few weeks and even shared her very special and famous recipe that is a favorite for everyone, her creamy shrimp and rice soup.
 While the menu is small to start the couple plans to add more specials to the menu over time including enchiladas, tamales, menudo and even a salad bar.
 Mi Amigo is currently open seven days a week., Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.