Photo by Peter McCradyMexican restaurant reopens original East Austin location
After setting down new roots on South First Street, El Chile y Cantina is again cooking up its Mexican cuisine at its original location at 1809 Manor Road.
"It's going great," said Carlos Rivero, owner of El Chile. "It has 10 years of clientele built into it. It's a fixture in the neighborhood and everybody came right back out, been very supportive, and everybody is very excited we reopened it [instead of] reconcepting it into something else."
The original location of El Chile reopened in October, around the restaurant's 10-year anniversary, but Rivero is not stopping there. He said the restaurant is also working on redoing the former Flat Top Burger Shop into a bar called Cantina.
Rivero said the full sit-down bar will be an extension of El Chile with a bar menu. He said he is planning to open it around the beginning of February. The space, which is across the street from the Manor Road location of El Chile, will also serve as additional parking for El Chile.
"We're going to put the burger on the [bar] menu as well, as kind of the mainstay or the entree," Rivero said. "It's essentially a neighborhood bar, but very much an extension of El Chile as well."
A new location of El Chilito, Rivero's taqueria concept, is also still in the works for 4501 Manchaca Road, Rivero said, with an expected opening in early summer.
El Chile y Cantina, 1816 S. First St., 1809 Manor Road, 512-401-3161, 512-457-9900, www.elchilecafe.com, See website for hours
