Marco Wong Baez’s training was as an electrical/chemical engineer. But his calling has been food.

A year ago this month, Wong Baez and his wife, Jennifer, bought Sabor Latino, the Mexican restaurant that has been at 212 N. Main St. in downtown Ann Arbor since 1998.

They made a number of changes: The menu was expanded to include food from more of Latin America (including Peru, Brazil and Argentina), weekend brunch was added as well as daily specials, outdoor seating was opened up, hours were lengthened and catering became a mainstay.

Now, another wave of changes is coming that Wong Baez hopes will double sales. Sabor Latino is waiting for the state to act on a liquor license the city has already approved. That should happen some time this summer, Wong Baez said.

Once they receive the Class C liquor license, which is being transferred from the shuttered Firefly Club, Sabor Latino will build a bar and sell beer, wine, sangria and mixed drinks such as margaritas. “People always ask why we don’t serve Mexican beer and margaritas and mojitos (a Cuban mixed drink).

Every comment on the comment cards has been about serving liquor,” Wong Baez said. “It’s a good combination: Spicy food and special drinks.”

Sabor Latino will also begin offering a Latin night with music and dancing once they receive the liquor license.

And he will add a second, higher-end menu gleaned from the most successful specials he’s offered over the past year while keeping the less expensive menu.

The changes come at a time when competition could become fiercer. Eve Aronoff, owner and chef of eve, the restaurant in Kerrytown, is set to open casual, Cuban-inspired Frita Batido in mid-August on West Washington Street. It may - or may not - prove to be competition, Wong Baez said.

“It may be more competition for Café Habana. It has more Cuban food.”

It’s been a balancing act, keeping the most popular menu items from Sabor Latino such as al pastor (marinated pork) and the staples of enchiladas, tacos and quesadillas but also making his own mark with dishes such as Diablo shrimp (a spicy recipe from his hometown) and Brazilian Amazon plantains. Wong Baez lets his creative side loose with the daily specials, such as Peruvian duck, beef tongue and pastelillos (turnovers).

While he admits the poor economy made it a tough time to buy a restaurant, sales have hit projections, with the help of a push toward catering, which accounts for about 40 percent of revenue, Wong Baez said. Sabor Latino has expended the catering operation to include the University of Michigan, the public schools, Google and other businesses.

There’s been a push toward marketing, Wong Baez said. Sabor Latino participated in the June Restaurant Week for the first time - and traffic doubled. He also sells pre-cooked items at the weekly Sonic Lunch summer noon-time music program, participated in Taste of Ann Arbor and will have a booth at the art fairs.

Wong Baez grew up in a small town in central Mexico and moved to Ann Arbor three and a half years ago to work in a number of kitchens around town, including Mélange and Vinology as well as manage Café Habana and BTB Cantina.

“I love to cook. I used to cook with my grandmother and mother. At every party, I was the guy in charge,” he said. “I felt I had enough experience for my own restaurant.”

Sabor Latino was perfect, Wong Baez said. He wanted a downtown location, he said. “And I was buying the competition. The timing was good.”