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| After only being open for about 5 weeks, Jalapeño Express in the Newport Plaza has closed for now. FTM file. |
FTM broke the news of the newest restaurant, Jalapeño Express, at the Newport Plaza back in April. According to owner Octavio Correo, who also owns Rio Grande in the same development, he had planned on opening the fast casual burrito place in May.
Slower than planned construction delayed opening until late December of 2014. According to Correo, they were going to try and compete with Chipotle Mexican Grill, which opened last year across Carothers Road in the Newport Pavilion. In the April FTM article,“It’s going to be the same quality as you’d see at a restaurant like Chipotle,” said Correo. “But we are going to give you more for less.”
After only being open for less than 2 months, Correo made the decision to close the doors temporarily because “business was very slow. Much slower than they expected.”
According to a manager at Rio Grande, Correo, whose corporation Correo Family LLC owns both restaurants, signed a five-year lease in the old Blockbuster so “they are going to try something else. Possibly another Mexican concept. They have no choice.”
Katie Lindsey, a stylist in Great Clips which is in the same mini-complex as Jalapeño Express said that she was surprised when they closed after opening only a few weeks earlier. “I ate there a few times and liked it. It was just like Chipotle but cheaper and they had queso! They didn’t seem to be very busy, though.”
Last week rumors began circulating that Rio Grande was on the verge of closing. With the Correo Family owning both of these restaurants, it’s apparent that the rumor may have started here.
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| Comments from the April article on Jalapeño Express article. |
