By Juan Soto
Bell Boulevard’s classic Mexican restaurant is packing its fajitas and quesadillas and heading south.
Cinco de Mayo is moving, amigo.
Fortunately, the taco and margarita lovers will not have to walk too far to keep enjoying their favorite Mexican joint.
After eight years at 39-32 Bell Blvd., Cinco de Mayo is just moving a few blocks down to 42-29 Bell Blvd.
Gaspar Carrillo, the establishment’s owner, said the move was necessary “because I don’t like to see customers waiting for a table to sit down and eat.”
The new place will have 28 tables instead of the 17 the eatery has now.
But not everything was easy for Carrillo, a Mexican native, and his Peruvian wife, María Verónica Carrillo.
Starting a news business involved a lot of paperwork, even before the first customers ordered their huevos rancheros. And then there was the effort to have the establishment’s clientele grow.
“The first three years were hard,” said Carrillo, who was born in Puebla, one of Mexico’s 31 states.
Carrillo is getting ready to open the doors of the new restaurant around mid-September. The new Cinco de Mayo, an important date in Mexican history, when its army defeated the French army at the Battle of Puebla, will also have an outdoor garden.
“By next spring, we should be able to have the garden open so people can enjoy food and drinks outdoors,” said Carrillo. “Bayside is a very nice place to have a restaurant.”
Cinco de Mayo will continue to offer foodies its specialities, which include Bistec Chapala, grilled steak served with mesclun salad and avocado, and the chimichanga, the golden crispy tortilla stuffed with cheese and chicken or beef.
The cook has been the same for the past four years.
And, yes, the new joint will continue serving those gigantic and exquisite margaritas, including the monster 40-ounce drink.
“Our margaritas are very tasteful, they are very good,” said Carrillo.
And as Cinco de Mayo moves out the door and takes the enchiladas somewhere else, Piura is walking in to replace it.
Piura will glorify Peruvian food, and Carrillo’s wife will be the one heading the new restaurant.
“We don’t have a restaurant in the area dedicated to Peruvian food, so let’s see how it goes,” said Carrillo. “This way we add a different place to Bell Boulevard.”
The plan is to open Piura, named for a northwestern Peruvian city, when Cinco de Mayo inaugurates its new location.
At Piura, customers will be able to taste the extraordinary ceviche, the Peruvian gastronomical trademark.
Besides being a new restaurant for the husband-and-wife cuisine duo, Piura will also hire new employees.
“We will have job openings,” said Carrillo.
Husband and wife know the beginning, as with Cinco de Mayo, will be an uphill battle.
“We are ready,” said Carrillo. “I will be at Cinco and she will be at Piura, It will work out.”
Reach reporter Juan Soto by e-mail at jsoto@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
