Students Missing Oxford Reflect on Experiences at El Agave

By Courtney Coton and Emma Green
Hottytoddy.com interns
cdcoton@go.olemiss.edu; eigreen@go.olemiss.edu

El Agave—located at 2305 Jackson Ave W—is known all around Oxford to have flavorful margaritas, authentic Mexican food, and an overall great experience. During this pandemic, the people of Oxford are not only craving the food but they are also missing the communal experience. 

COVID-19 and the stay at home order in Oxford have the community dreaming of the day when they will be able to sit down with their friends and family again and enjoy not only the food at El Agave but also the experience that it brings. This time is making society look back on their favorite memories and, for many students, memories at El Agave seem to be the ones that stand out the most.

A mariachi band at El Agave plays for a patron’s birthday. Photo provided.

This is a place where people go to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, good grades on a test, or just relax and have a margarita with some friends. To most, El Agave is more than just a restaurant, it is a feeling of home. Students and locals are missing this sense of home that El Agave brings to every occasion.

Anna Charlotte Lavers, University of Mississippi junior and frequent El Agave customer, says what she misses most about the restaurant is celebrating the good times with friends while there, like finally passing that accounting test.

“​I had been stressed out and studying for a test all week and my friends suggested we go to El Agave after to celebrate me finally being done with the stress. It was queso-dripping music to my ears,” Lavers said. “It became a tradition that after each Accounting test I took, we would all meet at El Agave afterward to celebrate. It’s where you go to celebrate the beginning of the semester, toast to the test that you just killed, and toast more margs if it killed you.”

El Agave has become so much more than just a restaurant to the residents and students in
Oxford. The memories that are made there surpass the fresh guacamole and delicious street tacos. Whether it’s celebrating an exciting moment in life or just going to eat on a random night, the atmosphere never fails to always make it feel like a celebration. It’s safe to say that most people in the Oxford area have a fun experience and memory from El Agave.

“A fun experience I had at El Agave was going for my friend’s birthday and him getting a sombrero on his head and whip cream in his face (which I will always laugh at,)” Ole Miss student Sammy Burke said.

Although the food at El Agave is why many visit the restaurant, that’s not all it’s known for. To some, it holds some pretty special memories. Lavers says some of her favorite college memories, all the way back from freshman year, have been there. “It is where I met new friends, celebrated old, and the one restaurant I was sure to take my family to visit me. It’s crazy to think now that an unsuspecting restaurant in a strip mall in Oxford, MS, would have such a hold on me, but looking back on all the memories that mural of Frida Kahlo has witnessed, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

This restaurant is more to people than simply a place to eat. It is a home that everyone seems to be missing during this quarantine and the staff at El Agave seem to be missing their customers as well.

“Business has slowed down tremendously compared to what we normally did.” Manager at El Agave, Moises Lemus said. “I think both employees and customers are going to be more conscious about staying clean. Some of the changes that we made may stay after all of this is over,” Lemus said.

It has been a big change for the restaurant and they’re still learning how to adapt to it. Lemus says he is hoping they will be able to continue their dine-in service soon.

Even in this time of uncertainty, El Agave has started curbside service for its customers. For more information call (662) 715-1740.