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BERWYN – Zacatacos will open a third location in Berwyn by December in the former New Seneca Restaurant at 6544 Cermak Road.
On May 10, Berwyn aldermen approved selling – for $225,000 to Mars Holding LLC – the property it recovered after the restaurant owner defaulted on a loan. New Seneca closed in March 2015, and the remainder of an original $330,000 loan from 2001 remained unpaid.
Zacatacos also has Berwyn locations at 3837 Harlem Ave. and 6224 Cermak Road, although the business has bought a vacant lot at 6212 Cermak Road, where it plans to build a new restaurant and close the nearby business on the corner of Harvey Avenue.
Alex Godinez, consultant for Mars Holding, said the former New Seneca Restaurant building is vintage, but sound, and will require a significant and “total-gut” renovation.
Anthony Griffin, executive director of the Berwyn Development Corporation, which issued the loan to New Seneca, said the property will require “a fair amount” of interior and exterior work, including a new roof and upgraded mechanical system.
Godinez said the look will be “new and exciting,” more modern and contemporary.
The restaurant will be sit down with an expanded Mexican menu. He said he had no menu specifics, but the business has "a lot of great ideas."
Zacatacos is planning to open around Christmas, Godinez said.
“We’re big fans of Berwyn," he said about why the restaurant chain chose its latest location.
Griffin pointed to the chain's other Berwyn restaurants.
"They’ve seen how successful they are," he said.
Assistant City Administrator Ruth Volbre said the 6224 Cermak Road location that will be closing isn't big enough. It has tables but does a heavy carryout business, she said.
The two new Cermak Road restaurants will be less than a mile apart.
“It’s not competing; it’s just an extra location," Volbre said. “I’m sure they will fill them both.”
Volbre said the New Seneca site is a great location with parking in the El strip and foot and car traffic nearby.
“We will still be in a great location to serve the community," Godinez said.
Alderman Ted Polashek, whose 6th Ward contains the New Seneca site, said he was pleased it had been sold.
"You never want to see an empty storefront," he said, adding Zacatacos has great food.
Mars Holding is paying cash for the property rather than taking a Berwyn Development Corporation loan, Volbre and Griffin said.
Griffin said the sale price was more than the amount remaining on the loan.
Property tax revenue generated for the city usually is $4 per square foot, which would result in about $20,000 annually when the New Seneca property that is less than 5,000 square feet goes back on the tax rolls, Griffin said.
Neither Godinez nor Griffin had an estimate on sales tax revenue for Berwyn.
“We will do quite a bit of business there," Godinez said.
Zacatacos' first restaurant opened in 1996 at Pulaski Road and 59th Place in Chicago, according to the business’s website. Four other restaurants subsequently opened – in 2003 at 71st Street and Pulaski Road in Chicago, in 2005 at 6224 Cermak Road in Berwyn, in 2008 at 3837 Harlem Ave. in Berwyn and in 2010 at 8460 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview.