A new restaurant is taking over the former La Chinita space, and it will serve seafood
A new restaurant will soon be taking over the space at 1451 N. Broadway that’s been vacant since La Chinita moved out in the summer of 2019.
Alejandra Arias and her husband, Jose Medina, are opening a place they plan to call El Taquero. They hope to have it ready by early or mid-February.
Arias, who hails from California, describes the new restaurant as a fast-food Mexican place that also offers dine-in. In addition to burritos, tacos and the like, the menu will have seafood dishes like shrimp cocktail, ceviche and fried tilapia.
“My husband loves making seafood, and I love making seafood,” Arias said. “We’re going to bring in some recipes we know from California. You can’t find it here the way we’re doing it.”
Arias and Medina were the owners of the tiny Lina’s Mexican Restaurant at 4910 E. Central, which closed last month. Arias said their lease on the space, which they’d occupied since 2016, was up and they decided they wanted to try something on their own. They had been franchisees of Lina’s, which is a chain based out of Omaha. There’s still a Lina’s operating at 3570 N. Woodlawn.
When they saw the old La Chinita space, they decided they had to have it.
“The outside of the building always attracted me for some reason,” Arias said. “We walked inside, and I liked how it looked.”
La Chinita now operates at 1051 N. Broadway.
El Taquero will feature the new owners’ take on some favorite Lina’s dishes, including their many menu items that incorporate Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
The restaurant will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It also will have a drive-through. The couple plans to get a liquor license and serve micheladas and margaritas.
I’ll let you know when El Taquero is ready to open.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 2:01 PM.
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