OAKHURST – Anyone driving by El Cid Mexican Restaurant in the past few weeks may have noticed the construction happening on the north side of the building.
They have torn down the patio-type area, and are building a brand new 1,600 sq. ft. addition, completely enclosed, and with room to add another bar area in the future.
Owner Tony Olmeda says the new dining area will seat about 100, and should be ready for customers to enjoy around the end of April. This follows closely on the heels of the expansion done on the south side of the building in 2009.
Olmeda says they’re always working to improve the business, and make things better for their customers.
“When I took over in 1995, there was plastic on the porch windows, no heater, no air conditioning, just a swamp cooler. We’ve done a lot of improvements, including the fireplace and the new bathrooms.”
Olmeda has also had to meet a lot of county requirements, including restructuring some things to meet ADA requirements and re-grading the parking lot.
“The parking lot was approved at the time I took over, but when the County came out with new codes, we had to redo the parking area so the grade was less than 2%,” says Olmeda.
He has also torn out the concrete at the front of the building and replaced it, and moved all the handicapped spaces to the south side of the front door, where the walkways will be completely ground level.
Plans are in the works to move the delivery area, which at this time is behind the building in the overflow parking area. That’s the spot where the bird feeders hang just outside the rear windows, keeping customers entertained with a bit of bird watching.
“This will all be landscaped in the future,” says Olmeda. “We’re going to make a nice patio down there with pavers, palm trees, and some really nice landscaping.”
Perhaps down the road, they will be able to make that patio area accessible to customers, but a restroom would need to be added at the lower level for that to be possible.
“We will always keep improving the business,” says Olmeda. “We want to keep our customers happy and comfortable.”
