El Charrito Is Welcomed At New Main Street Location
Sisters Blanca Flores (left) and Patricia Cubillo welcomed customers at El Charrito Restaurant and Grill Thursday. Their family operates five restaurants.
El Charrito Is Welcomed At New Main Street Location
By David Howell
Editor
WATER VALLEY – El Char-rito Restaurant and Grill opened last Wednesday in the newly renovated building on Main Street and was formally welcomed on Thursday by the Water Valley Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors with a ribbon cutting. Customers also poured into the new location with capacity crowds starting Wednesday night and continuing throughout the weekend.
Mayor Larry Hart cut the ribbon as owners Juana Cubillo and her daughters, Blanca Flores and Patricia Cubillo, and Lazaro Cortez were greeted by ambassadors at their new location. Hart pointed to restaurant workers’ precedent as a model for success, citing quality food and regular hours, year after year. El Charrito has been open almost two decades in the former Railroad Street location before closing briefly last week for the move and now operates as El Charrito Restaurant and Grill.
The new restaurant will seat around 100 people, 20 more than the former Railroad Street location. It also has an open atmosphere with more space for the diners and the kitchen crew. The work force is expected to increase from seven employees to a dozen as the crew gears up for more customers, according to Flores. The year-long renovation converted the delipidated row of buildings into a pristine restaurant setting with authentic furniture imported from Mexico.
“Our goal is to keep the restaurant looking new,” Flores said about the upgrade. “We want everything clean and neat, that is really important to us,” Flores told the Herald, adding that good service and food is equally important.
Flores’ sister, Patricia Cubillo added that her family owns five Mexican restaurants, three in Tupelo, one in Oxford and El Charrito Restaurant and Grill in Water Valley.
Patricia Cubillo also explained the Water Valley restaurant is special to her. She worked at the restaurant as her first job when she was 18 years old. At that time she lived in Oxford with her parents, who she describes as “very protective.”
“But they were so trusting of this community. I would drive from Oxford and they said you are safe in Water Valley, everybody knows everybody,” Juana Cubillo added.
That was almost two decades ago and Juana Cubillo said her family has loved the community ever since.
“Water Valley’s traditions are now my family’s traditions, we enjoy the Watermelon Carnival every summer,” she said.
