EDITED 12:32pm Monday April 24
On Sunday May 7th the owners of Muchos Tacos & Tequila (Website | Facebook) at 101 S Eola Drive (MAP) will be closing the restaurant, but only for around 10 days says the General Manager. During the closure the team will be working to put together a brand new concept for the restaurant. The exact opening date is not known and the GM would not disclose the new concept. The closing was confirmed by a Muchos employee and the general manager separately.
The owners sat down with Scott Joseph and to share all the details about the new concept. Read it here.
We told you in March that the Thornton Park neighborhood has seen a recent exit of 3 more restaurants in 9 months. Below is a list of all of them including Muchos:
- August 2016, Wildside BBQ closed.
- November 2016 Verde Mexican Soul Food closed.
- March 2017 Baoery Asian Gastropub closed.
- May 7th Muchos Tacos & Tequila will close.
Also, a restaurant space sits empty at 900 E. Washington Street (MAP). It's the former of home of one of several Graffiti Junktion locations, one of which just closed.
Replacements for the Baeory and Verde spaces are in the works according to the owner of the building in which both spaces are housed, Craig Ustler. We spoke to him about the first three Thornton Park restaurant losses in early April.
"At Thornton Park Central, we are working on replacement tenants for the Verde space and the Baoery space and I hope to have both deals finalized shortly."
The site of the former Graffiti Junction remains unoccupied. It's owned by Phil Rampy, owner of Olde Town Brokers. We reached out for comment but did not receive a response.
How do four restaurants up and close in less than a year? "I think it is just the natural ups and downs of things," says Ustler. His restaurant group (Thornton Park Restaurant Group) has produced several lasting restaurants, but he says there's not a way to guarantee success. "I believe it is just about finding the right fit and doing it right. And there is no crystal ball. Some things that seem like a good idea don’t end up working out."
He admires other Main Street districts that have gotten traction with their restaurants. "...other areas (like Mills 50) have gained some traction on the restaurant side. This is a good thing overall and I want more local, authentic and independent (and successful) restaurants for downtown Orlando."
We asked if the parking situation in Thornton Park may be an issue for area restaurants. Ustler says, "The parking has been the same for basically 15 years (since we built Thornton Park Central) and some restaurants do well, others have not."
