Casually and without much fanfare, the new MexiCali restaurant at 40th and Sansom streets opened for business to the Penn and West Philadelphia communities.
Owner Richard Frattura was on hand serving up burritos, quesadillas and other Tex/Mex cuisine to customers at the new location.
The restaurant -- which has sprung from the cart that is run by Frattura and his wife -- sports a newly tiled motif that the owner himself hand-laid.
Some of the restaurant's first customers are already satisfied with the fare.
"This is different," said Reena Tejura, a fourth-year student at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. "It's not your typical Qdoba."
Frattura said he "could have hired contractors ... but wanted to do all these by myself."
He originally put a neon MexiCali sign in the window last spring, but the restaurant remained under construction for several months while the renovations were ongoing.
Frattura said that while there was frustration as to when the new store was opening, "I think my customers understood."
"I kept my cart open full time," he said.
By last spring when things at the store were not ready, "it became an easy decision not to open until this coming fall," Frattura said.
He also explained that with students leaving, he felt things could wait, especially in light of being a father of two and working at the cart.
The restaurant will offer an experience different from the cart, and Frattura encourages old customers to check out the new restaurant with an expanded menu from the cart.
"I want them to come and try something else. ... There will be a lot more."
For now the menu is sticking to the basics -- although the burritos are larger in size -- but Frattura said that as time goes by the menu will continue to grow.
"I think it's really good," said Priya Parikh, also a fourth-year student at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. "I like the idea of the stacked enchiladas."
The cart on Spruce and 36th streets across from the Quadrangle will remain open to continue serving the long lines that stretch down the sidewalk each day.
"A lot of people down there are my friends," Frattura said.
The cart will be operated by his wife, and Frattura will still attend to business at the cart a few times a week.
This is the second Tex/Mex restaurant to open on 40th Street in the past year. Qdoba opened last spring on the corner of 40th and Locust streets.
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