El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge in Mesa Is Coming Back

The historic joint has been closed since 2017.

April 28, 2021

Image: El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge is (almost) back.

El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge is (almost) back. Charles Barth

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Since 2017, the bright-pink building at 105 North Country Club Drive near downtown Mesa has sat vacant, a sign at the entrance reading "CLOSED FOR VACATION OPEN AFTER LABOR DAY."

But soon, El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge will reemerge to once again serve margaritas and Mexican fare to Mesans.

Eva Munoz Orta, the daughter of previous owner Fred Munoz, who died in 2012, is taking the reins of the restaurant.

El Charro says on its Facebook that it will reopen May 5 — or Cinco de Mayo — from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. for takeout only.

The family-operated eatery El Charro Cafe was originally located at 416 West Main Street when it opened in the 1940s. It relocated to open as El Charro in 1958 at the Country Club Drive spot.

Will there be the same plush red booths, classic memorabilia, and neon beer signs? You’ll have to wait till sometime in June, when the restaurant plans to begin accepting dine-in customers.

For more information or to follow along with the renovations, check out the El Charro Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge Facebook page.

Lauren Cusimano was the Phoenix New Times food editor from 2018 to 2021. Joys include eating wings, riding bikes, knowing everyone at the bar, talking too much about The Simpsons, and falling asleep while reading.

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