Locally owned Mexican restaurant El Molcajete is opening a second location. They are taking over the former El Toribio building at 3034 East 4th Street.
El Molcajete owners Onoel Castillo and Luber Villanueva said they don’t have an exact date yet but expect to open within the next month or so.
Villanueva said they had been looking at locations outside of Owensboro but eventually settled on the former El Toribio property.
The new location is near the intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and East 4th Street (more commonly referred to as a street of KY 144).
The current El Molcajete is located at 2845 West Parrish Avenue near Ollie’s Bargain Outlet. Villanueva said they struggled some when they first opened.
“We just started like 5 years ago, and it was right when the pandemic started,” he said. “It was a really tough time, but thank God we survived.”
Since then, their loyal customer base has continued to grow, with the owners saying they are constantly asked when they are going to expand. They said one reason people keep coming back is the heightened service experience a customer gets at El Molcajete.
“We want to show people we’re not the same thing as the other restaurants, especially with the service. We try to keep everybody happy. You have to have a positive attitude to serve.” Villanueva said. “We just want to serve the people and keep our customers happy.”
Castillo added, “A lot of people tell us our servers are so friendly and fast. A lot of people like us, and we have low prices.”
Find out more about El Molcajete’s menu on their website and stay up to date on their plans for opening on their Facebook page.
