Dawn McCandless
of
Agavé Mexican Bistro
By Kathleen Downey
Dawn McCandless
Agavé owner Dawn McCandless describes herself as “a California girl with a New England heart.” Youthful, trim, tanned, and petite with blue eyes and cropped blonde hair, McCandless looks every bit the California girl. But the West Coast transplant who came East in 1991 now can’t imagine living anywhere else. “I love the four seasons. I feel like each season gives you a new soul,” McCandless says, almost poetically. After pit stops in Portsmouth, NH (where she did a brief stint as a cocktail waitress at the discotheque, Bananas); to Quincy, MA; to a rented house on Plum Island, and then to a spacious house in Newbury, McCandless is now settled into a comfortable home in Newburyport’s Joppa Flats neighborhood with her two young boys (ages 3-1/2 and 4-1/2): “the loves of my life,” she says.
McCandless, who is divorced, celebrated the Mexican bistro’s ten-year anniversary last May. Her success with the State Street Mexican restaurant inspired her to open a second Agavé in Portsmouth three years ago. “I’m following my passion, and I couldn’t be happier,” McCandless testifies. “I feel like the most fortunate woman.”
Growing up in Los Angeles County, McCandless developed a taste for authentic Mexican food. “I was working in a Mexican restaurant when I was 17,” she says. As much as she enjoyed working in the restaurant industry, an experience that planted the seed of one day owning her own restaurant, McCandless’s career took a detour into the medical equipment and supplies industry. She worked as a manufacturing representative before ultimately applying her marketing background and business savvy to forming her own company. “I was extremely successful,” McCandless states. “I was living large . . . until I finally realized that the job just wasn’t worth the money.” She was also tired of constantly being on the road, covering an expansive New England sales territory. McCandless was ready to follow her dream.
“I was living in Quincy, working with a realtor to find a restaurant space and a home. My realtor suggested Newburyport.” McCandless was familiar with the city from leisurely Sunday visits here. “I loved the idea of getting back to a seaport town,” she states. The capital she accrued through her corporate career allowed her to buy the building at 50 State Street, which she transformed into Agavé Mexican Bistro. 
McCandless reflects on her gumption and allows herself the recognition she deserves. “I was only 32 at the time,” she says with a measure of incredulity.
But McCandless also admits to having made “a lot of mistakes.” She recalls, “I went through a learning curve with the restaurant.” McCandless allows that “learning people” may have been her toughest lesson as a business owner. “Initially, I hired the wrong individuals,” she says. However, McCandless describes today’s staff as “wonderful.” “I feel like we all work together,” she says.
McCandless’s resiliency (her personality sparkles!), her genuine love of the hospitality business, and her epicurean taste for fine Mexican food have each contributed to her success as a restaurateur. The numerous awards and recognition that Agavé has received for its authentic Mexican fare and neighborhood bistro ambience include Best of North Shore, Bill Costa’s TV Diner, and the Hidden Jewel award from the Phantom Gourmet. But McCandless says that it’s her customers who inspire her. “When people come in, enjoy their meal and leave happy . . . I’m happy,” she says.
Contemplating her life in the Port, McCandless says that she loves the small-town community feel, the wonder of stepping out of her house and walking along the seawall, and the brick buildings that greet her downtown. She describes the spirit of the city as “priceless.”
But it’s her children who have taught her what has the most value in life. “My sons have taught me patience, and they’ve taught me that it’s the little things in life—the simple things that make you laugh or put a smile on our face— that can make you happy,” McCandless says. She says it’s the simple and silly things that make her laugh. Can she be silly? “Oh, I can definitely be silly—and sassy!” McCandless answers proudly and with a big smile. She shares that one of the silly things she likes to do is dance around her house with her children. “I want my kids to know that mommy still carries a groove,” she laughs. And does she know her life’s purpose? “Absolutely!” McCandless answers. “I want to be sunshine to people!”
Describing herself as someone who loves to laugh, loves to dance (particularly to loud ‘70s dance music), who possesses integrity and who is loveable, McCandless shares: “I want to fall in love again.” She pauses and adds, “I’m a strong believer in love.”
Kathleen Downey is the Features Editor for Newburyport Today. If you are a townie or a citizen who would like to be profiled (or to suggest someone to profile), please email: Kathleen@Newburyport-Today.com.
