The long-vacant San Diego Cantina restaurant space is preparing for its next chapter. Memphis diners have spent the past 8 years wondering about the building’s fate and now, at last, the future of the building has presented itself; El Agave, a Mississippi-based concept will be taking over, and will hopefully be opening this spring, reports Daily Memphian.
The restaurant will be bringing Mexican cuisine to its new 5007 Black Road home. While El Agave does not have a precise opening date set yet, co-owner Rafael Angel states that he is hopeful that the eatery will be open by Cinco de Mayo. The concept currently has a certificate of occupancy under review with the Memphis and Shelby County Division of Planning and Development, which bodes well for margaritas in May.
Locals are certain to be delighted to see food and fun returning to the building-it’s been vacant since Mi Pueblo closed in 2017. Initially, Angel intended to renovate Mi Pueblo but eventually pivoted to bringing El Agave into the space.
While this will be El Agave’s first location in Memphis, the restaurant is no stranger to the hospitality scene. The chain has six existing locations-five in Mississippi and one in Alabama.
El Agave will bring plenty to both the literal and figurative table; the eatery has established a fan-base through its incredibly freshly prepared cuisine, including scratch-made salsa and chips, made daily. The company site offers a glimpse at what’s in store, sure to make the stomachs of future customers rumble: “In our expansive menu, you will find many different combinations of Authentic Mexican Plates like Chiles Rellenos or Street Tacos to a more Tex-Mex Mexican food like chimichangas. We have also evolved and fuse our Mexican flavors with Southern American cuisine like BBQ Pork Nachos.”
