New Mexican restaurant on Springfield's south side has soft opening

Apr. 23—A new Mexican restaurant on Springfield's south side is holding a soft opening to get employees fully trained and work out kinks.

Los Chiapanecos, owned by Edwin Gonzalez, is located at 648 S. Yellow Springs St. and opened Monday. It serves a variety of dishes, and the owner plans to expand options soon, he said.

A portion of South Yellow Springs Street, next to the restaurant, is currently closed for construction for more than 200 days. Customers can access Los Chiapanecos' parking lot from Fair Street.

Gonzalez said he and his cousin, who works in the kitchen, have experience working in restaurants, and the owner took a business class to prepare. Gonzalez is a longtime roofer.

"I love this; we love working," Gonzalez said. "Make some stuff maybe for the future for my kids."

The menu features several classic dishes like carne asada, fajitas, tacos, tortas and pollo con camaron, and Gonzalez said he plans to serve soup on the weekends because these dishes require more preparation time.

"We just try to make everything fresh every day," he said.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m., though hours may vary until staff is fully trained.

The building is small and can fit 35 customers inside, and Gonzalez said he plans to soon put a picnic table outside for customers when the weather permits.

Gonzalez asked customers for patience while the street is under construction and employees get comfortable in the soft opening. He said he will do his best to satisfy customers and alter their food orders to the way in which they enjoy their food.