Couple plans Mexican restaurant in Wheeling
Turns out the biggest thing Claudia Ramiro wanted to change at her restaurant was the one thing she couldn't.
“That red roof,” she said. “There's nothing we can do to change it. We'll make it work. It is what it is.”
Claudia Ramiro and her husband, Yordi, plan to open a Mexican eatery called Cinco de Mayo at 34 N. Elmhurst Road in February. The building used to house an Arby's, which explains the red roof.
While the Ramiros are stuck with that, they will be changing just about everything else in and around the site.
According to Wheeling Village Planner Andrew Jennings, the Ramiros added a new patio, wall sign, free-standing sign and landscaping. There will also be large clay pots with flowers around the patio, which will seat about 15 people, he said.
“Right now, everything is about complete on the inside,” Jennings said. “They're just waiting for some warmer weather before they start painting outside.”
The Ramiros are spending about $45,000 on the patio, signs, landscaping, facade and parking lot. On Monday, the Wheeling Village Board agreed to reimburse the couple about $19,000 with tax incremental financing funds.
The Buffalo Grove couple, former Wheeling residents, have Mexican cuisine in their bloodline.
“We both grew up in families where cooking was important,” Claudia Ramiro said. “In our restaurant, we want to show a wide range of Mexican cuisine. Not just tacos.”
Although tacos and other standard Mexican fare will be on the menu, so will specialties like braised pork and tinga de pollo — a shredded chicken with a chipotle sauce.
Cinco de Mayo will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Lunches will run about $7 and dinner about $10 per person. There will also be vegetarian and children's meals.
The eatery will open with a license allowing them to sell beer, wine and sangria. However, Ramiro hopes to obtain a full liquor license in the future.
Down the road, Ramiro also hopes to make use of something else leftover from the site's old Arby's days — the drive-through window.
“I think it would be great if people could pick up takeout orders right at the drive-through,” she said. “Especially during the winter.”