In Olón, a name that derives from one of the theories that maintain that it comes from the ‘big wave’, interesting things have been happening in gastronomy and tourism. It is a quiet commune in the province of Santa Elena, with a very pleasant climate, with an extensive beach, where you can eat tasty, fresh and cheap. It is also the place where some local and foreign migrants have decided to settle and have taken the opportunity to open work niches.
Olón resists becoming a Montañita, known for being a place of nightlife, with an outstanding gastronomic offer, noisy and excessive, where people from all over the world meet almost all year round. On the other hand, it is common to see entire families strolling through the small streets of Olon and milling around improvised food businesses.
It is common to see businesses pizzabakeries and restaurants that offer a variety of options, and among them is Momo, a restaurant that started small on a corner, but now looks like one of the best in the area.
They are the Argentine Anahí Velozo and the Swedish Johan Gustafsson, the married couple that owns this place, to which you must make reservations to be able to enter both in high season and on weekends. “We consider ourselves Ecuadorians, but very adopted Olonenses. We started four years ago, a little insecure, of course, because starting from scratch in a small town filled us with many questions. We arrived at a little corner, we rented a place, we put four little tables outside and we cooked inside. That’s how this adventure started a bit, because we didn’t know what to expect; at the beginning we worked during the high season and when the rainy season arrived, we went to Sweden to work, because there we had a small restaurant in a national park, more precisely in a small port where sailboats arrive and where we only work in summer because It is very north of Sweden. So imagine, normally that sea spends more time frozen than melted. We were like that for a while, coming and going, and that’s how we did three seasons,” says Anahí.
Momo’s secret, says the Argentine, has been word of mouth advertising. “At the beginning, people came to that little corner with a bit of distrust, very rustic. Also because in every detail is our identity. It was a little place, a little corner, you know. And well, With the passage of time we began to see that more people came and since we had nowhere to make them wait, they sat inside the cars waiting for those little tables to become empty. So we said that we owe a better place to the people who have supported us so much. Thus came the broader Momo project since December 2019.
An older Momo had to face quarantine due to COVID-19. “We had a fantastic opening, the clients happy that we gave them a better, more comfortable place. They were so cute they always supported us, but we had to close for four months due to the pandemic, but from there another plan came out: the deli gourmet, who is next to Momo. We made a renovation in the building and opened it and since then we have not stopped”, confesses Velozo.
The couple have been together for six years. They met in Vilcabamba (Loja), but Johan has been living in Ecuador for eleven years. Since they started with the restaurant they did not imagine that he would have the success that he enjoys now. “We’re building a bit on Momo’s philosophy of relying on ‘word of mouth.’ We really knew it would work that way, and as owners, we like to engage with people. We have clients who are now our friends. It is a passion, it is our space, our home. You will see many photos of us, of the trips we have made, our books are there. It’s a bit of our place. We want to be friends of friends who are there”.
The community members, as in other towns along the Spondylus Route, have found job opportunities. “We love it and I hope they love it too (Anahí laughs). They really received us very well, with a lot of confidence and with a lot of openness too. Maybe we are a bit strange to them, but they are open. I think we have a symbiosis with the community within Momo. It’s cool, they’re friends. We have three Argentines as employees, one Spanish and the rest, 18, are all from Olon.
the specialties
Anahí finds it difficult to answer if Momo has a special dish. The thing is, she doesn’t have it. “It is a very difficult question because turns out we have a chef who is capricious. So, when a dish starts to become a house specialty and starts to sell well, Johan takes it off the menu and says let’s do something new. It also depends a lot on the products that we are getting or what the producers bring us. Knowing my partner, I could say that he is a great fusion chef because he mixes products that one, using logic, would not do. For example: during the last season she dated a spaghetti made with squid ink in a coconut and saffron sauce and the protein was scallops with caviar”.
Pangora is one of the best-selling products prepared in its various dishes. “I think we put a lot of passion into everything we do. We love what we do and we are very demanding with ourselves too. Both Johan in the kitchen, while he trains the staff, and those of us who are outside in the service are also going in that direction. I think that all of this is transmitted to the diners and is felt, vibrated. We are also very detailed in the flavors, in the plating”.
Plans to expand, for example, to Guayaquil, where most of his clients and friends are from. “We have thought about it. We had offers, but not yet. Yes but no. It is yet to be defined.”
Johan never dedicated himself to the kitchen. He worked in an office in his country and when he left to travel he discovered his vocation. “I am also empirical. I was studying arts just like Johan and when I also started to travel I was interested in gastronomy, but from the outside of the kitchen. That is, the relationship with people. I think it’s fun and I found the bar (from where you serve) as my space and I marked a distance between the service and the conversation”.
Momo, with capacity for 60 people, enjoys having at least 18 or 20 entrees and 15 entrees, appetizers, soups and salads. Of course, they always vary. In the deli, what is sold the most are the wines, the cheeses and the national chocolate. “We have imported wines and also the local Hemispheres brand. The cheeses are 80% national. Ecuador is producing really quality cheeses”, emphasizes Velozo.
Attention
Momo is open every day from 12:00 to 16:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00. The name they adopted for the restaurant started almost as a relancina. “It was an accident when we came across that word. We find out and find out that Momo is a Greek god, he is also the king of carnival. The story of him says that he is the only god who was kicked out of Olympus for bad behavior.”
You can make a reservation by calling 096-892-5314 and when you go, you must go to Calle Santa Lucía 303 (Olón). On Instagram: @momo.olon.
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
