New Mexican restaurant opening in Springfield uses family recipes, signature marinades

Ezequiel Camacho, the man behind the family-owned Charro Mexican Restaurant brand popping up throughout the Midwest, doesn’t shy away from a little competition.

That’s evident by the locale Camacho selected for his entry into the Springfield market. The 2500 Sunrise Drive address, former home to Springfield Char House, is the second Mexican restaurant to open in Whitney Business Park this year.

And two more established, south-of-the border contenders are nearby. Blue Margarita is visible from Charro’s parking lot while La Fiesta is less than a five-minute drive.

“My vision is Mexican cuisine that’s different from other Mexican restaurants,” said Camacho, who co-owns the Charro brand with his wife, Fan Camacho. “Customers (at the other locations) appreciate the difference.

“My mother was a good cook. She inspired me. Half the recipes are family recipes. Most of what we serve is housemade.”

The salsa is a family recipe. Tortilla chips are fried fresh daily. The chorizo is made onsite. All meat selections are cut in-house and seasoned with signature marinades.

The Springfield location opens May 20.

Can’t wait that long?

Charro Mexican Restaurant also has locations in Taylorville and Decatur, as well as the original site in Chesterfield, Mo. that opened in 2009.

The 7,000-square-foot Sunrise Drive address has sat empty since Springfield Char House closed in 2020. The building originally housed Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Cafe when it was first constructed in 2004. Comacho said he has filed plans with the city to add an outdoor patio, but that feature won’t be completed before the grand opening. Hours are 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday. Phone: 217-970-4053. Dine in and take out available.

Rancho Chico opened at 3028 Stanford Ave. in Whitney Business Park in January, filling the vacancy left by Cancun.

Chicken wing business eyeing second Springfield location

Wingstop will be saucing and tossing its signature flavors on Springfield’s northend next year.

Officials for the Garland, Texas-based chain confirmed plans for a second location at 2724 N. Dirksen Parkway. A first quarter 2025 opening is planned.

Wingstop’s claims the final vacancy in the strip mall in front of Walmart that already is home to Starbucks, Great Clips and T-Mobile.

The announcement comes on the first anniversary of the brand reentering the Springfield market at 1665 Wabash Ave. The brand was absent from the Capital City just shy of two years after fire closed the Wabash address in 2021.

The father-son team of Salil and Sahil Contractor are the local franchise operators.

The Wingstop concept took flight in Garland, Texas in 1994, offering wings ranging from plain to lemon-pepper, spicy Korean to Louisiana rub, Cajun to atomic. Today the chain operates more than 2,000 locations across the globe.

Sonic returns to Taylorville

Sonic Drive-In returns to Taylorville with regular operating hours Monday after a two decade absence from the Christian County seat.

But time it right and you might just be able to scratch that dashboard dining fix early with the new Sonic offering some unposted hours since May 8 to give the new staff hands-on training.

The Las Vegas-based Guernsey Sonic LLC is behind the brand’s revival at 929 W. Springfield Road next to the Taylorville High School. This marks Guernsey Holdings’ entry into central Illinois with all its other Sonic locations in the state south of Mt. Vernon.

The renovated building includes double drive-through lanes, seven drive-in stalls and eight stalls dedicated to pickups for orders placed via the Sonic app.

Beginning Monday, Sonic will serve customers from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m. to midnight Sunday.

Parent company Guernsey Holdings LLC operates Sonics spread across Illinois, Idaho, Texas, Louisiana and Washington.

The Taylorville site hasn’t housed a restaurant since 2002 when the state closed the Sonic for the previous franchisee’s failure to pay taxes.

The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 217-737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Charro Mexican Restaurant opening in Springfield. Wing Stop eyes second location