Fans of the Sinaloa Caf
é will be happy to hear the news: the Peña family Mexican
restaurant known for its food, atmosphere and margaritas will be
back in business by the end of next month, but in a new
location.
Fans of the Sinaloa Café will be happy to hear the news: the Peña family Mexican restaurant known for its food, atmosphere and margaritas will be back in business by the end of next month, but in a new location.
Steve Peña said Thursday he has signed a lease for the building housing Maurizio’s restaurant, located downtown at 17535 S. Monterey Road.
“It’s a ballpark figure, the opening date, because we’d like to open sooner,” Peña said. “But we’re shooting for Halloween, pulling all the stops to get ready.”
Maurizio said his restaurant would relocate in the downtown, but did not want to disclose the location until escrow closes.
The original Sinaloa Café, opened in 1960 by Adolpho Peña, was burned during an early morning fire in the kitchen on June 29, 2002. The 100-year old building that housed the original restaurant at 19210 Monterey Road at Peebles Avenue was destroyed, as well as its contents.
The family managed to save a portrait of Adolpho, who died in November 1999. After his death, the café was run by his widow, Mary, and her three children, including Rosalie Peña, who was killed in a car accident in August.
After the fire, the Peña family publicly pledged to re-open the restaurant. The original plan was to rebuild in the same location, but financial complications made the family look for other options. In July, Peña told the Times that he was seeking investors to allow him to get the financing in order. But with this new plan, he says that is no longer necessary.
“We’re going to do this on our own,” he said. “But after we originally said we were looking for investors, we did get some of our dedicated customers who came forward with offers of money or time or their services. Those offers were deeply appreciated.”
Peña said the family will take possession of the building Sept. 22, and get to work right away to prepare the restaurant for opening day.
“The main thing will be some kitchen remodeling,” he said. “The rest will be little changes, just to personalize it. It’s a very nice building, a nice location. But we had two kitchens at the other building, so we could get the orders out faster. We’ll try to make it the best that we can.”
Parking shouldn’t be an issue, Peña said, with the lot on the side of the building, as well as the parking lot on W. First Street and parking across the street.
“We’re really looking forward to getting things going, taking some steps forward for a change,” he said.
