Sam Eifling
Audio By Carbonatix
Last summer, in the thick of the sweltering heat, the thing steaming residents more than June’s triple digits was the abrupt closure of eight Filiberto’s Mexican Food restaurants.
Instead of getting their breakfast burrito or carne asada fries, would-be customers found “Closed” signs taped on drive-thru menu boards and front doors of eight Filiberto’s locations in Phoenix, Avondale, Apache Junction, Chandler, Peoria and Scottsdale. Diners took to Reddit to express confusion and discuss what appeared to be a wave of closures.
When Phoenix New Times stopped by the Scottsdale location in June, the restaurant’s lights were on, but no one was home. The blinds were drawn tight and the parking lot was empty, save for an IT worker in search of a quick, affordable lunch who had to make other plans.
Soon, representatives from Filiberto’s confirmed that one franchisee, Compadres Group, owned these restaurants. The group’s owner, John Schwimmer, quickly closed the restaurants because he experienced personal “unforeseen medical issues,” Cesar Tenorio, a member of the family that founded Filiberto’s, told Phoenix New Times in June.
Since then, the Tenorio family has worked with commercial real estate broker Luis Espinoza to take over the leases of these Filiberto’s locations.
By the end of August, the restaurants in Phoenix, Peoria, Apache Junction, Chandler and Gilbert were back online. An Avondale eatery reopened at the end of September.
Now, more than 10 months after the family behind Filiberto’s promised to reopen the 24/7 drive-thru restaurants, the last location in Scottsdale has flickered back to life. Burritos are available northwest of Loop 101 and Talking Stick Way.
“All restaurants are up and running,” Espinoza said via email, confirming that the Scottsdale Filiberto’s reopened roughly two weeks ago.
The fast Mexican restaurant has become ubiquitous around the Valley since opening in 1993. Today, there are nearly 100 Filiberto’s across the metro area.
With the reopening of the last of these eight restaurants in Scottsdale, this tale of carne asada drama draws to a close.
Sam Eifling
Every Filiberto’s that closed and reopened:
- 10749 E. Apache Trail, Apache Junction
- 1440 N. Dysart Road, Avondale
- 930 E. Pecos Road, Chandler
- 1397 E. Williams Field Road, Gilbert
- 13972 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria
- 2955 N. 91st Ave., Phoenix
- 17224 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix
- 9150 E. Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale
