With El Vaquero out, Cross Country Plaza searches for new restaurant
Cross Country Plaza shopping center off Macon Road has begun the search for a new eatery following the closure of El Vaquero Mexican restaurant several weeks ago.
“We would not be opposed at all to another Mexican restaurant, or a national (chain), something that may be a little different and that’s not in Columbus right now,” Vickie Smith, Cross Country’s manager, said Tuesday.
The vacated space, which sits to the rear of the main shopping center, is about 7,000 square feet. A food establishment would work best at the location simply because it is set up that way currently, Smith said, with it having a grease trap and plumbing that can handle a restaurant.
“We don’t have anything definite yet,” she said. “But we are pursuing other restaurants to go in there. So hopefully we’ll get (something) moving in there pretty quickly.”
El Vaquero partners Rafael Del Valle and Irene Calhoun are now working to sell off the equipment inside the 3135 Cross Country Hill location that served its last burritos and enchiladas on Dec. 31. That ended a 25-year run for the business at the shopping center.
“The reason we closed is because the lease matured and we couldn’t come to terms with the landlord. That’s why we made the tough decision to close it,” said Del Valle, who with Calhoun also own the El Vaquero restaurant at 2976 North Lake Parkway on the city’s north side.
Del Valle said he doesn’t know if the partners will open another Mexican eatery elsewhere in Columbus. They simply for now are focusing on getting the equipment at the closed location sold before February is out. The El Vaquero eateries in Phenix City are not owned by them.
A check of Muscogee County Public Health Inspection records indicate the Cross Country Plaza El Vaquero did not have any food-service or major cleanliness issues. In its most recent inspection more than a year ago on Jan. 20, 2016, it received a score of 97 and an “A” grade. Each of its scores in 2014 and 2015 were also Grade A, with a 96 and 99 reported by inspectors.
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This story was originally published February 7, 2017 at 1:09 PM with the headline "With El Vaquero out, Cross Country Plaza searches for new restaurant."