32-07 30th Ave. (NYC ZoLa)
Sept. 3, 2019 By Shane O’Brien
A California-style Mexican restaurant is coming to 30th Avenue at the beginning of next year.
Calexico will open at 32-07 30th Ave. in early 2020, the restaurant’s owners have confirmed. The eatery will open on the former site of Salt and Bone Smokehouse, which closed in October last year.
The restaurant chain currently operates nine locations, seven of which are in New York City, with one in Detroit and another in Bahrain.
The 30th Avenue establishment will be its first in Queens. Weheartastoria was first to report Calexico is coming to the neighborhood.
The chain serves a selection of burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, fajitas and tacos, as well as a wide variety of sides such as nachos and salads.
The Astoria location will employ between 50 and 60 staff, the owners said. They plan to serve brunch, lunch and dinner and operate a happy hour.
(Calexico)
Dave Vendley, who set up the restaurant chain with his two brothers, Brian and Jesse Vendley, said that they have always wanted to open a location in Astoria.
“It was the first area we lived in when we first moved to New York City,” Vendley said. “We absolutely love the area and have always wanted to open a restaurant in the neighborhood.”
Calexico was founded by the three brothers when they moved to New York City from Calexico, California, from which the restaurant gets its name.
The town is on the border of California and Mexico and much of its cuisine is a hybrid of food dishes from Southern California and Mexico.
When the three brothers moved to New York, they set up a food cart in SoHo in homage to that cuisine. They have since expanded into several brick and mortar locations.
