Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant ending 25-year run

Rogelia Flores dreads the upcoming New Year's Eve.

Since it is a Saturday, she would normally have the night off as one of the managers of the Chapala's Mexican Restaurant on South Decatur Boulevard. But since it is also the night the restaurant will close after 25 years, she is torn between a sense of duty to be there at the end and but not wanting to be overwhelmed by the emotion.

"It's going to be sad," she said. "This is part of my life and the customers feel like part of the family."

At the same time, she and other employees have seen the steady drop in business the past three years, with no rebound in sight. The only question was when the lights would go out, said Anna Flores, another manager, and that answer came last week.

Company President Jose Flores has decided to retrench to the East Tropicana Avenue location his father, Antonio, opened in 1965. Jose Flores could not be reached for comment.

There will be room for about a half dozen of the 19 people that work at South Decatur, Rogelia said, with the others facing a still-difficult job market. She is one of those about to start filling out applications even though her husband, Edward Flores, is one of the owners and officers.

"They just didn't have a choice, there wasn't enough money coming in," Rogelia said. "We might have a couple of good days, but that wasn't enough to cover for a slow rest of the week."

Further, that stretch of South Decatur has been blighted by numerous retail vacancies, including three car dealerships that have closed.

The struggle at Chapala's reflects a locals restaurant market that still faces strong headwinds despite some bright spots.

"It's a mixed bag, a fragmented recovery," said David Dahan, a vice chairman of the Nevada Restaurant Association and CEO of the insurance brokerage Orgill/Singer & Associates. "You see success stories and you see debilitating conditions for others."

Restaurateurs have reported being caught in a vice of slack demand and rising food prices, as many suppliers tacked on energy surcharges to cover rising fuel costs.

"A lot of local restaurants have been impacted," Dahan said. "People are still going out but they are not spending as much."

Manual Maldonado, a waiter at Chapala's on South Decatur for 13 years, faces a job search in a couple of weeks, although he is not sure what direction it will take.

"The bosses are nice people and it's been a comfortable place to work," he said. "I think I will take some days off and talk to my wife about what to do."

Curtis and Karen Aguiar have already made up their minds. Steady customers almost since opening day, they say they will drive to East Tropicana even though they live in Summerlin.

"This is by far the best Mexican food in town," said Curtis, who owns Curtis' Body Shop, a health club.

Just to reinforce their commitment, their longtime waitress, whom they know only as Grandma, will call the Aguiars to alert them to when she is working.

"I don't look forward to this closing," Rogelia said. "But like everything else, it comes and goes."

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at
toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.