MOUNT VERNON — After a long and much-anticipated wait, the old Pizza Hut restaurant on Coshocton Avenue opened on Monday as the city’s second incarnation of the popular Fiesta Mexicana restaurant.
Irene Rivera, manager of the downtown restaurant, said owner Jose Avalos opened Fiesta Mexicana Express at 1061 Coshocton Ave., in part to cut down on the often long lines that form at the West High Street restaurant.
“We are really happy to be opened,” she said. “We wanted to show our appreciation to our customers. This town is our family. We’ve been here almost 11 years.”
Rivera said Fiesta Mexicana Express has 16 tables, serves lunch and dinner, and offers a somewhat smaller menu than its downtown counterpart. She said she expects to acquire a liquor license for the restaurant in the near future, one that allows liquor only but excludes beer.
Avalos began to renovate the building in late 2005. Asked why it took so long to open, Rivera said one thing or another always came up, such as state inspections, that kept delaying the opening.
A Chinese restaurant in the Valley Shopping Plaza has come under new ownership and should reopen later this month.
The new owner, whose name was not disclosed, plans to reopen the restaurant as the Oriental Buffet. It was previously called Wok N’ Roll, which recently closed for reasons unknown.
In a prepared statement, Eddie Chen, a spokesman for the owner, wrote that if everything goes smoothly, the expected grand opening will be April 22. The owner has two restaurants in the Columbus area; Mount Vernon will be the third of many such restaurants to be opened in Ohio. Chen said the menu will have mostly Chinese food, along with other varieties.
“The owner would like to introduce authentic Chinese food to more people,” Chen wrote.
The previous owners could not be reached for comment, but Chen said the new owner is not affiliated with the old owners.
In other business news, the new Goodwill store at 60 W. Parrott St. should soon be open. Merchandise is already inside, and on Tuesday, workers were making some minor renovations. A spokeswoman for the company could not be reached for comment for an opening date.