Noelia Olivares had a vision of the sea in KC; her food truck-turned-restaurant serves up the surf

A new brick-and-mortar restaurant docked along one of Kansas City’s popular dining corridors is sailing into the blustery Midwest market this winter — with the young entrepreneur behind the counter offering her family’s fresh take on Mexican seafood cuisine.

Mariscos Mr. Culichi; photo by Joyce Smith

Mariscos Mr. Culichi is now open at 910 Southwest Boulevard (Taqueria Mexico long operated in the space, followed by La Mexico KC). A grand opening scheduled for Jan. 18. 

“It had old Mexico kind of vibes,” Noelia Olivares said of the longtime eatery’s former aesthetics. “So we had to revamp it, bringing the sea to the restaurant to uplift the space.”

On one wall now: the words “En El Mar La Vida Es Más Sabrosa” (“Life is more flavorful at sea”), while the opposite wall has a seascape and the restaurant’s logo.

The menu includes several seafood soups with broth made fresh daily, as well as oysters, tostadas, a variety of ceviches and aguachiles, tostadas, and pasta.

Click here to follow Mariscos Mr. Culichi on Instagram.

Mariscos Mr. Culichi at 910 Southwest Boulevard, the former longtime home of Taqueria Mexico, followed by La Mexico KC; photo by Joyce Smith

Driving toward the waves

Even as a high school student in Roeland Park, Kansas, Olivares knew she wanted to launch a food business; she just had to convince her parents — a tight-knit family originally from coastal Sinaloa, Mexico — a region known for its seafood dishes.

A seafood platter from the Mariscos Mr. Culichi food truck; courtesy photo

During those teenage years, she would often post photos of her stepfather’s home-cooked meals on social media. Olivares not only got a lot of likes; her followers wanted to place orders.

“They were offering insane amounts for our dinner. Like $100,” she said. “That’s when I had an ‘ah ha’ moment.”

But her parents all already had full-time jobs. Her stepfather, Eugenio Duran, has worked at several area restaurants. Her mother, Maria Ortiz, was a receptionist at a clinic. Her father, Jose Olivares, owns an underground utility company.

Graduating in 2020 from Bishop Meige High School — amid the global COVID-19 pandemic — changed things. The family banded together to bring Olivares’ vision to life as Mariscos Mr. Culichi food truck, specializing in Mexican seafood.

(Mariscos Mr. Culichi is not connected to the Mariscos KC Seafood in Olathe and Shawnee.)

They set it up on Winner Road in Independence where it operated until late November when the family operation transitioned to the more permanent space on Southwest Boulevard. They soft opened in late December. 

Olivares now is a junior at University of Kansas City-Missouri — a student in the Henry W. Bloch School of Management and an alum of its E-Scholars program, which helps young entrepreneurs learn how to launch and scale businesses.

Murals of seaside vistas grace the walls of Mariscos Mr. Culichi; photo by Joyce Smith

Prepped with passion

Mariscos Mr. Culichi is already known for its Torre Señorón — a seafood tower with ceviche, aguachile, octopus, calamari and shrimp for $32.99.

“Even at the food truck it was the most-sold dish. It is our staple,” Olivares said. “But at the food truck we couldn’t do the presentation that we do in the restaurant. We had to dismantle it to-go.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mariscos Mr. Culichi (@mariscosmr.culichi)

Restaurant customers also have made its Caldo Extremo 7 a top-seller. The soup has shrimp, octopus, calamari, tilapia, crab flakes, mussels and white clams.

Ingredients are prepped daily, and dishes are made-to-order and can be customized. Tortillas also are made in-house. 

One challenge as restaurant owners is finding workers who will keep the same level of quality and customer service that the family did operating their food truck, Olivares said. 

“When you know us, you just automatically know that it is quality,” she explained.

They hope to add breakfast items soon. And their food truck will return for special events in the warmer months. 

“That’s how we really connected with our customers,” Olivares said. “That face-to-face contact, a deeper relationship than customer and business owner.”

Restaurant hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays. It is closed Tuesdays.

[divide]

Startland News contributor Joyce Smith covered local restaurants and retail for nearly 40 years with The Kansas City Star. Click here to follow her on Bluesky, here for X (formerly Twitter), here for Facebook, here for Instagram, and by following #joyceinkc on Threads.