A month and a half after abruptly closing - much to the dismay of a number of regular customers - Jalapenos Mexican Restaurant in Fargo is open again under new ownership.
Fernando Aguirre, one of the restaurant's new owners, said Jalapenos reopened Friday. The change came after the restaurant was sold to a new ownership group, he said.
Aguirre, who is from Mexico, comes to Fargo from St. Louis, where he was managing another Mexican restaurant. He will serve as the manager of Jalapenos.
The interior is mostly as the previous owners left it, Aguirre said, but the staff and chefs are new. So are some parts of the menu, which has undergone a makeover.
But if you're wondering if a favorite dish has disappeared for good, don't worry: Aguirre said the kitchen can make most items off the old menu as long as it has the ingredients.
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"It is new, but we want to continue with the business that they had," he said. "If they were doing something right, then we want to continue."
Jalapenos, located at 2901 Main Ave., originally opened in February. The restaurant's previous owners are now in Grand Forks, where they operate another restaurant, Aguirre said.
When Jalapenos closed in mid-August, the move was sudden and without explanation - the restaurant was open one day and closed the next without so much as a sign on the door. Aguirre said he's not sure why the previous owners didn't give notice, and understands that the move likely upset some customers.
"We definitely want the word out that we're open for business," he said.
The restaurant announced its return with a jumbo banner stretched across the windows of the main entrance: "Now Open" (and beneath that, "Welcome Amigos").
If diners were put off by the surprise closure, they didn't show it on Monday. The restaurant was buzzing around noon, and the lunch crowd that had lamented the loss of Jalapenos in August was out in force.
Lincoln McArthur, a Fargo business owner who frequented Jalapenos for lunch before it closed, was back early Monday afternoon. He said he's glad to have the restaurant open again.
"The food has always been just excellent," he said (in fact, he said it's even better with the new staff).
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He said he figured out Jalapenos had reopened when he spotted a parking lot full of cars.
His reaction? "The boys must be back in business."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Marino Eccher at (701) 241-5502
