Villa Mexico Café is scheduled to close its original location at Grampy’s gas station Thursday, Jan. 31, but the popular Mexican restaurant could reopen at another Cambridge Street location later this year.
The restaurant will lose its location of nearly six years at 296 Cambridge St. when the gas station is redeveloped as a residential building, but owners Julie King and her daughter, Bessie, are moving forward with plans to relocate to the street-level of 309 Cambridge St. between The Liberty Hotel and the Charles MGH Museum. Besides take-out, the new Villa Mexico plans to offer indoor seating for 19 customers.
“City Hall members keep supporting us a lot and they are doing their best as well to help us relocate as soon as possible,” Julie King wrote in an e-mail to restaurant patrons and supporters. “If this location is meant for us, we will receive confirmation to lease and begin building the place from scratch in the coming months. Fingers crossed we could reopen this year again.”
Julie King added Villa Mexico Café is planning a going away party at its original on Friday, Feb. 1, and that details would be posted on the restaurant’s Facebbok page.
The Beacon Hill Civic Association (BHCA) Zoning and Licensing Committee voted not to oppose the restaurant’s proposed move to 309 Cambridge St. in November – six months after it had denied the restaurant’s previous plans to relocate to a long vacant street-level storefront in a residential building at 12 Grove St.