Wichita Mexican restaurant getting new owners, new cuisine

El Rodeo Mexican Restaurant has new management, and its menu is getting an infusion of a new type of cuisine – Salvadoran.

Isabel Martinez is in the process of purchasing the Mexican restaurant, which has been open at 5730 E. Central since 2003, but she’s running the place now, said her daughter, Kenia Contreras.

Martinez, a native of El Salvador, is keeping the El Rodeo menu intact for now but has added some of the most popular dishes from her native country, including pupusas, which are corn cakes filled with meat and cheese and topped with salsa and cabbage slaw.

On Fridays only, she’s serving Salvadoran tamales, which are different than Mexican tamales. They’re wrapped in banana leaves and filled with chicken, potatoes and green peppers.

Until she is the owner, Martinez is keeping El Rodeo as is otherwise and will continue offering one of its most popular specials – $6.99 fajita dinners on Wednesdays. The price includes a drink.

A name change and menu overhaul are possibilities in the future, Contreras said.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 10:48 AM.