COA Mexican Eatery Moves to Larger Location on Riverside Drive
COA Mexican Eatery moved to the former El Gitano location at 1810 Riverside Drive, opening for business in late August after spending three months remodeling the restaurant.
The restaurant management team of Omar Sandoval and Viry Delgado decided to make the move, despite the coronavirus pandemic, because the lease on their original location on 10th Street near Mount Vernon High School was not going to be renewed as the owner has other plans for the location.
Moving to the new, larger restaurant has turned out to be a boon for COA. The old restaurant was much smaller, allowing for only five tables due to COVID-19 health regulations. The new restaurant allows for 20 tables while still meeting COVID safety protocols.
The expanded space has also allowed COA to increase its employees from seven to 32 – more than quadrupling their original staff.
“We are very blessed because we were able to open during pandemic time,” Delgado said.
So far, business has been brisk by pandemic standards, Delgado said, and she is hopeful it will continue so that they can retain their employees.
Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce hosted an official ribbon cutting for the restaurant on Sept. 28. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the ribbon cutting was not a public event, but Mayor Jill Boudreau was in attendance to mark the occasion.
“It was a bittersweet moment because we weren’t able to throw a party,” Delgado said.
In coming months, Delagdo said, they expect to expand the happy hour menu as well as add new entrees.
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The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce serves and promotes its members by providing information, training, networking opportunities and advocacy to proactively encourage economic growth. More than 500 businesses look to the Mount Vernon Chamber to provide leadership in building a better business environment and community.