By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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CHERRY VALLEY — A Mexican seafood restaurant with a high-end bar, late-night kitchen and live music is slated to open Friday in the former Granite City Food & Brewery outside CherryVale Mall.
El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill will open at 7140 Harrison Ave. at 11 a.m. Friday, according to Becky Cerda, El Vallarta general manager. The opening comes after more than two months of renovations to the space, which had been empty for more than three years.
“We’re going to be a place where you go to celebrate: birthdays, anniversaries, farewells – we have variety for everyone,” Cerda said.
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The restaurant has an extensive food and drink menu and live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. It will open at 11 a.m. every day and close at 1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday and 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday, Cerda said. The kitchen will close at midnight Sunday-Thursday and at 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
El Vallarta will offer bottle service for tequila, mezcal, vodka, whiskey, champagne, cognac and wine. Customers can choose their set of mixers, from grapefruit soda and mineral water to cranberry, pineapple and other fruit juices – which the bartender will mix to their preference. Bottle service for tequila will be $199 to $1,200; for mezcal, $199 to $999 a bottle.
Other shareables on the drink menu include the El Atracadero, a $56 platter where seafood surrounds a choice of six cans of beer topped with shrimp, and the Olla Vallarta, a $180 craft cocktail of tequila mixed with chopped fruit, grapefruit soda, and a choice of citrus juices.
For those not opting for alcoholic beverages, there will be virgin piña coladas, margaritas, sangrias, and agua mineral preparadas (lime juice mocktails).
Mexican sushi headlines the food menu. Peppery spices replace wasabi in 10 choices of sushi rolls. Other fusion options include pasta dishes with a house specialty Nayarit red sauce.
Mexican seafood standards like whole snapper, prawns, octopus, mussels, shrimp, oysters and lobster tail will come both as individual dishes and on shareable platters. Soups, fajitas, salads and steaks will also be available. A children’s menu includes pasta and quesadillas.
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Justin Shea, CherryVale Mall general manager, expects El Vallarta’s food concept and entertainment will draw many visitors from the Rockford region and beyond.
“We are very excited for El Vallarta to open on July 14,” Shea said. “The owners and management team have made great interior improvements that bring a whole new ambiance.”
Changes to the space include removal of a wall in the main dining room, and replacement of worn booths and banquettes with tables both in the dining room and the bar. According to Cerda, the interior has a 265-person occupancy.
The restaurant is owned by a family-led group of suburban Chicago investors that includes Tollo Cruz and his wife, Liz, who are 20-year veterans of the hospitality industry. The Cruzes have owned as many as 10 restaurants in and around Chicago and a chain of eateries in Mexico.
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El Vallarta is beside Talbots on the strip at the CherryVale Mall complex across from Barnes & Noble. It will be CherryVale Mall’s only stand-alone restaurant and its third independently owned restaurant.
The space, which at 9,000 square feet is more than twice the size of many local restaurants, had been occupied for over a decade by Granite City Food & Brewery, a Midwestern chain known for its brunch and happy hours. The Cherry Valley location closed in March 2020 after Granite City’s parent company filed for bankruptcy.
About | El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill
Where: 7140 Harrison Ave., Cherry Valley
Hours: 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Friday, Saturday
Reservations: 815-580-1038
Menu: See it here
On the web: elvallartarestaurantbar.com; Facebook page here
El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill is scheduled to open Friday, July 14, 2023, inside the former Granite City Food & Brewery at 7140 Harrison Ave. in Cherry Valley. (Photo by Helen Karakoudas/Special to the Rock River Current)
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Email feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.