Driving down NW Expressway this morning, and noticed El Chico's recently went out of business.


Looks like the El Chico on N May has closed too.

its about time - that time has been terrible the last couple of times my wife picked that place to eat

Really surprised it stayed open as long as it did.

One of the few remaining restaurants from the 70's and 80's.

El Chico is a terrible Mexican restaurant. It won't be missed. I wish the one in Quail Springs Mall would bite the dust and be replaced by something cool. I remember when it opened as a Garcia's. Garcia's >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> El Chico.

its about time - that time has been terrible the last couple of times my wife picked that place to eat

What did you do to make her that mad at you lol?

The last time I recall El Chicos being good were when they had the one in Shepard Mall. Cant say I didn't see this coming.

^

And it probably wasn't very good then, either. We just had very little to compare it to.

Like most things, restaurants have come a long way in the last 30 years or so.

I could be wrong but i think the one on Hefner & May is closed also.

^

And it probably wasn't very good then, either. We just had very little to compare it to.

Like most things, restaurants have come a long way in the last 30 years or so.


They were actually pretty good but not anymore and its not even close. There used to be a place on NW 23rd{N side, around Western} as well as a place on S Walker just a block or 2 south of I40 that was pretty good both of which names escape me. There was also El Charrito in Paseo that was pretty good.

S Walker just a block or 2 south of I40

wasn't that one called la roca? -M

El Chico corporate also owns Cantina Laredo which is in Penn Square.

wasn't that one called la roca? -M

That was it.......Thank you!

El Chico corporate also owns Cantina Laredo which is in Penn Square.

Belch.....
Laredos has never been the same since they were on 63rd.

Belch.....
Laredos has never been the same since they were on 63rd.
Laredo's name was changed to Casa de los Milagros. It's on N Classen.

I could be wrong but i think the one on Hefner & May is closed also.

There isn't one there, but there is one a mile south (May & Britton) that is alive and well.

Laredo's name was changed to Casa de los Milagros. It's on N Classen.

Yes I know I should have phrased that differently.
It isn't owned by the same people anymore is it?

I have not had the Cantina Laredo in Penn Square but I have had it in other cities and it wasn't terrible. Much better than El Chico. Is the one at Penn that bad?

Belch.....
Laredos has never been the same since they were on 63rd.

You're talking about two different places. Cantina Laredo in Penn Square is a chain store and apparently part of El Chico according to GaryOKC6. It's awful, BTW.

The former LAREDO restaurant was/is locally-based and family-owned. The building it was in on 63rd was sucked up by the Chesapeake campus. The owner used the funds from the sale to (very slowly) build a replacement which opened a few years ago next to the Belle Isle IHOP at NW Expressway and Classen. It was renamed Casa de Milagros because of a name dispute with a chain...presumably the one in PSM.

I went CdM twice in their new location. The first time it was amazing. We took my in-laws a few months later and the food and service were both absolutely terrible. I was completely embarrassed and have never returned. This was 2 or 3 years ago. I might be better now.

You're talking about two different places. Cantina Laredo in Penn Square is a chain store and apparently part of El Chico according to GaryOKC6. It's awful, BTW.


Cantina Laredo must have really went downhill then. I had them several years ago in Houston and was pretty impressed. Of course it wasn't the most amazing Mexican food but for a chain place it was decent. Definitely a cut above chains like El Chico, On The Border, etc. The thing is though, with Mexican food, non-chain doesn't necessarily mean good. I have had so many terrible Mexican food experiences at hole in the wall restaurants.

Cantina Laredo must have really went downhill then. I had them several years ago in Houston and was pretty impressed. Of course it wasn't the most amazing Mexican food but for a chain place it was decent. Definitely a cut above chains like El Chico, On The Border, etc. The thing is though, with Mexican food, non-chain doesn't necessarily mean good. I have had so many terrible Mexican food experiences at hole in the wall restaurants.

Remember that any discussion about food and restaurants is subjective. It's never black and white. Somebody will always love the very places you hate and vice versa.

There isn't one there, but there is one a mile south (May & Britton) that is alive and well.

Yup your right, I was by there on Friday at lunch time and there was only five cars in the parking lot, which is the reason I thought it was closed cause a few weeks ago it was at lunch time and there was not a single car in the lot.

Yes I know I should have phrased that differently.
It isn't owned by the same people anymore is it?
I believe it is. I'm going to eat there this week, unless I decide to go to
Los Amigos.

I believe it is. I'm going to eat there this week, unless I decide to go to
Los Amigos.

How do you think it is? I've tried it once and found it to be terrible. Ted's and Alfredo's are superior to it.

How do you think it is? I've tried it once and found it to be terrible. Ted's and Alfredo's are superior to it.

Los Amigos?
Good but not great.
Three tequilas in Edmond and Tacos Don Nacho on S Council are 2 of my favorite spots courtesy of just browsing ratings on Urbanspoon.

La Luna.

Newcastle is better than downtown.^^^^

I love Tarahumara's in Norman.

Los Amigos?
Good but not great.
I really like Los Amigos. Not a fan of Ted's, though. It's so unpredictable.

I really like Los Amigos. Not a fan of Ted's, though. It's so unpredictable.

Nah me either.........I don't care how many Gazette awards it wins.

Tahahumara in Norman IS delicious. Ted's is overrated. So overrated that it can be (and is) a good place while still not deserving the cultish following and outsized reputation. The things that are better-than-average about Ted's: 1. service 2. flour tortillas 3. employee hand wash practices. That's it. Beyond that it is run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex. the reason people think it is awesome is because they had to wait in line for it. Nobody wants to admit to their friends that they waited in line for average, or that they can't taste the difference that everyone else seems to taste.

What did you do to make her that mad at you lol?

she generally makes poor decisions when it comes to place to eat and she liked some guacoamole crap they make right @ your table

Well, there's no accounting for taste, and there's generally enough varied tastes concerning Tex-Mex food in these parts to fit in at a street fair.

I thought they were fine. I know the breadth of authenticity that concerns Mexican food about as intimately as an Oklahoman can get, and they weren't it. But the food was good in its own right, and they had a nice church bulletin discount. There's a measure of memories with this as well, from childhood to my adulthood. I'll miss them.

Tahahumara in Norman IS delicious. ...

So much so I don't even visit the other sit down tex-mex places in Norman. Not that the others are bad, but if my favorite is open anyways, I'm a faithful puppy to my burrito masters.

Mmmmmmm, El Chico's food was right up there with Casa Bonita! LOL

We eat fajita's at the N May location a couple of times a month. They are always nice to us there and the food is actually pretty decent. Maybe not the best Mexican place in the area, but it's close by and reasonably priced.

My mom & I go to the southside location on Western frequently. They recently "refreshed" their interior (for the worse) using mostly the tables/booths/decor from the now closed NW Expressway location. They have painted the walls a glaring too-bright-white (the previous wall color can still be seen around the hand-painted sign on the wall over the restrooms). While some of the changes were improvements (newer tables and booths) the "decluttering" (as the manager put it) of the decor stripped the place of it's character. They need to replace the carpet and ceiling tiles (according to the manager they are going to ...sometime...eventually..but don't hold your breath as the manager said she personally repainted the place..instead of having pros come in and do it).

I know I am in the minority, but I enjoyed the El Chico on Northwest Highway, so now I am going to the one on South Western and am enjoying it as well. Their Atomic salsa is so good, and the rest of the selections are not so bland as other Tex-Mex places in OKC. I also like the one at May and Britton, but the other two I mentioned are just handier for me.

We hit the one in Norman every once in a while just for a change of pace from Alfredo's. It is pretty good grub, but it is a notch below some of the better joints like Alfredo's and Perico's

Count me as one who will miss the NW Expressway El Chico. No it wasn't great food, but back in the day, it was really the only option we had and because of that, it was always like comfort food for us. For the most part, it was the same, day in and day out for at least 35 years. My wife and I had our first meal together there when we started dating way back in 1984, and I ate there for several years before that. In recent years, it had become my grand-daughter's favorite restaurant. She wanted to go there every Sunday for lunch after church. In fact, she wanted it for her birthday on Valentine's Day so we had to go to the N. May location. I hated to see the NW Expressway location go. Many of the staff had been there for years, and they knew us by name and orders. It will be missed.

Does anyone remember the name of the Mexican Restaurant that was on NW Expressway and Rockwell before it was demolished back in 2002-3?

Does anyone remember the name of the Mexican Restaurant that was on NW Expressway and Rockwell before it was demolished back in 2002-3?

Posado's.

Posado's.

Thank You!

Count me as one who will miss the NW Expressway El Chico. No it wasn't great food, but back in the day, it was really the only option we had and because of that, it was always like comfort food for us. For the most part, it was the same, day in and day out for at least 35 years. My wife and I had our first meal together there when we started dating way back in 1984, and I ate there for several years before that. In recent years, it had become my grand-daughter's favorite restaurant. She wanted to go there every Sunday for lunch after church. In fact, she wanted it for her birthday on Valentine's Day so we had to go to the N. May location. I hated to see the NW Expressway location go. Many of the staff had been there for years, and they knew us by name and orders. It will be missed.

I can understand the sentiment, as it's one of the very few restaurants in town still in business since the 80's.

It would actually be interesting to create a list of places that have been open more the a few decades in OKC. It wouldn't be very long, that's for sure.

I've always put El Chico's (and for those from around Ada/Ardmore, Polo's) as one of those restaurants that seemed good until you've had something else. Growing up it was the only option, but once you had something else you saw what you were missing.

... It would actually be interesting to create a list of places that have been open more the a few decades in OKC. It wouldn't be very long, that's for sure.

Norman is something of short list as well looking at the ones in town when I rolled up a bit over 27 years ago.

The Diner
Ozzie's
O'Connell's (took me a bit to warm up to the new location)
Service Station
The Mont
Legends
Greek House
Hassler's
J-Pat's (maybe called something else these days)
Tulio's (but I am a bit uncertain if they top 25 years)
El Chico in mall

There may be others, but no more come quickly to mind using a 25+ year criteria.
My lovely and I both agree, we still miss Po' Folks that was on W Lindsey back in the day.

Nah me either.........I don't care how many Gazette awards it wins.

you mean "buys". Joklahoman and Gazette like to profit off the "Best Of" editions.

Posado's.

Which was originally Crystal's Pizza (Casa Bonita parent company). The few times we went there as a group from work, enjoyed Posado's and was sorry to see the building bulldozed for a cookie-cutter large chain place.

Which was originally Crystal's Pizza (Casa Bonita parent company). The few times we went there as a group from work, enjoyed Posado's and was sorry to see the building bulldozed for a cookie-cutter large chain place.

Posado is a chain as well

I've been thinking about the El Chico on NW Expressway and remember
that it was pretty good. Of course, Nino's was far, far better which is why I
didn't go to El Chico unless whomever I was with wanted to go there.

Posado is a chain as well

I guess so, as was Crystal's if you REALLY want to get to the brass tacks, but they didn't seem like it.

I mourned the loss of Crystal's, but Posado's was a worthy successor.

Over the last few days, demolition of the old El Chico has been ongoing. The building and some of the parking lot are now gone. Then this morning, a truck delivered a construction site porta potty. Looks like they may be about to build something. Anyone heard anything?

It was purchased last month for $1.3 million by a Charlotte developer who is building for Verizon Wireless and it appears some additional rental space.

http://www.concordproperties.com/home-slides/slide-2.jpg

I was hoping for a new restaurant. We already have a Verizon store 1/2 mile from there.

The El Chico on the SW corner of May & Britton has closed. It's been there for decades. The sign says to visit them at their Quail Springs location.

-
http://i.imgur.com/5uZ9pDj.jpg

Yep had been there since the 70's I believe.

Heard it may become a Garage Burgers & Beer, which I'm trying to confirm.

Not surprised, me and a co worker stopped in there a few months ago for lunch, walked in stood there for a few started looking around, never seen anyone and decided that it was a good idea to go somewhere else instead.......

Yup, not surprised. Eat there occasionally and the place was always dead. Sad because I've eaten there on occasion since I was a kid.

Kind of sad. There is something nostalgic about El Chico. If you grew up in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and the surrounding region, you were probably raised on El Chico, Furr's, and Sirloin Stockade. Red Lobster was for special occasions only.

A Garage Burgers here would be fantastic! Good riddance to El Cheapo. My wife was upset when they cut down all those beautiful trees several years ago. I have to agree, it really made the building barren and ugly.