There’s been lots of news lately regarding longtime Wichita restaurant Margarita’s Cantina. Sadly, none of it will result in the return of Margarita’s Cantina.
Back in January, the Mexican restaurant’s owner said that he planned to relocate the restaurant. He’d closed it on Dec. 31 after his building on East Douglas was auctioned off and he decided the space was too big. But recently, his new lease at the former home of The Kitchen in Union Station was canceled, and the landlords say they’re talking to other food businesses about taking it over. Margarita’s owner Jesse Lee said he’d had second thoughts about the financial commitment of reopening the restaurant and decided to put the project on pause.
Meanwhile, the new owners of the Margarita’s building say that they’ll soon start a major renovation of the space. This week, developers Brian and Paul Suellentrop won Wichita City Council approval to set up a Community Improvement District at the building. That means that the building’s future tenants will charge customers an extra 1% sales tax, and over time, the developers will be reimbursed for a portion of their renovation costs. They said they envision one or two restaurants moving into the Margarita’s space and a retail business taking over the barbershop space attached to the building’s east side. They should break ground on the renovations soon.
In other Mexican restaurant news, a business that’s operated near the corner of Central and Tyler since 2019 is moving to a bigger spot, also near the corner of Central and Tyler. The owner of Puerto Vallarta Mexican Restaurant at 602 N. Tyler recently signed a lease on a building less than a half mile away. It’s taking over the spot at 756 N. Tyler that over the years has been home to businesses such as Red Mesa Grill, Augustino Brewing and The Angry Elephant. He hopes to have the move to the bigger spot completed by September but will continue operating at his original address until then.
