By Anelia K. Dimitrova
Zury Arestegui is fearless.
You don’t have to know a lot about her to sense her grit.
And if you want to see it firsthand, stop by Zury’s Taco Bar at 2214 College Street in Cedar Falls.
It is with a mix of courage and confidence that a year ago, the mother of two, whose given name is Itzuri, made a leap of faith from the food truck she had been operating just down the street to a sit-down family restaurant that she proudly owns and runs.
On June 6, 2025, family, friends, city officials, fellow business owners and Grow Cedar Valley ambassadors gathered at the restaurant to celebrate its first birthday with a ribbon cutting.
It is typical for such public events to happen when an establishment first opens its doors, but this one came on the restaurant’s one-year anniversary, which made it even more meaningful, Zury said.
Last year, after the informal opening of the restaurant, when a student journalist asked Zury what she hopes for, she gave a succinct answer – she asked God for an opportunity, not for money, she said, because if she were granted the former, she knew how to get the latter. She was not afraid to do whatever it takes to make her dream come true.
Hence Friday’s snipping of the scissors and the festive arch of purple-and-yellow balloons adorning the restaurant’s entrance and a corner of the interior, were an affirmation that Zury had kept her part of the deal–she had been given an opportunity and she took full advantage of it by pouring herself into it with everything she had to make it happen.
It was about the road she had traveled so far and all the lessons that had wizened her.
With help from her family, and a friend, Jennifer Hernandez, Zury renovated the space of the former The Other Place restaurant beyond recognition, adding a beautiful bar, upgrading the kitchen and furnishing comfortable booths. She placed UNI signs to signal that the restaurant is Panther space.
She took a can-do approach to her business. She knew that serving authentic food was just one aspect of a successful venture. For her, however, it was also about building a community where customers feel like extended family members, truly appreciated and valued.
In earlier interviews with the Cedar Falls News Hub, Zury said she wasn’t naive about what it would take to step up her game from the food truck to a successful sit-down family restaurant she wanted to create on College Hill. After all, she reasoned, the College Hill Partnership was revitalizing the area to appeal to a larger community audience rather than just college students. Meanwhile, several new food-related businesses, including Moo’s Bakery, The Bing Ladies, and a new version of Oh My Grill, had recently sprung alongside staples like Chad’s Pizza, Masala Grill and Green House Kitchen.
Zury said she knew she would be tested in her venture to create a Mexican restaurant of her own making and she expected the hard work and the hard knocks.
The hardships didn’t wait. They came in abundance and at times overwhelmed her, she said.
As many business owners can attest, staffing and other operational challenges can be dispiriting, but somehow Zury kept moving forward past them.
The harder it got, the more she dug in, throwing herself into the business cooking, serving, cleaning, working with vendors, paying the bills.
She channeled her energy and shared it with everyone who cared to look at the restaurant windows facing the street. There, she handwrote three multi-colored chalk messages, like “Be a good human!” and “Just love your neighbor,” and another one, with a couple of hearts, saying this is a business owned by women.
Hardships, fears and doubts notwithstanding, Zury found the courage to keep up her mojo, greeting every customer personally, explaining the menu, asking about their experiences and then repeating it again and again and again.
She kept adjusting the menu, and offered specials to attract customers.
Her endurance shined even brighter, especially on slow days and sputtering weeks, when she still mustered the energy to greet everyone who walked through the door with a smile, ready to showcase her cuisine and her hospitality.
Those who supported her – her kids, her friends and her family, along with her customers – stood by her side and kept motivating her to keep going.
In her remarks at the ceremony, Zury read her own words, whose true meaning she had lived.
“We’re not only celebrating the official opening of this space, but also its anniversary, which fills me with pride and deep gratitude,” she said.
She thanked her supporters for their loyalty and then added:
“Starting a business is not easy. There are days full of doubt, exhaustion, and fear. But there are also days like today — when everything makes sense and my heart feels full.
“This business is not just a place of work. It’s a space built with intention, with values, and with a desire to make a positive impact in our community.
“I’m proud to say that this is a project created by women entrepreneurs, women who are taking the lead, building dreams, and empowering each other.
“Today, we honor how far we’ve come, and we open the door to all that’s ahead: new goals, new challenges, and new opportunities.”
She then went off script, adding to applause:
“This is history for me.”
She then gave Cedar Falls Mayor Danny Laudick a copper ornament from Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, where, it is estimated, about 300 shops continue to practice the ancient metal-working craft.
Then the countdown to the ribbon cutting ended with a chorus of voices, saying “Zury’s Taco Bar.”
Zury and Jennifer clipped the pink ribbon to applause and cheers.
In his introduction to the business, before the appetizers took everyone’s attention away from the official part, Laudick noted that Zury has joined the city’s Human Rights Commission and summed up the experience of dining at the restaurant with an observation that echoed Zury’s stated intent to create a family restaurant.
“When you come for food here, you meet the whole family,” he said.