It was what could be called a "soft reopening" Thursday evening for El Nopal restaurant in Eureka.
The restaurant's manager, Facundo Mendoza, said they were not sure if they could plan to be open Thursday because the St. Louis County inspector was scheduled to be there in the morning for the final assessment. When the inspector didn't arrive until the afternoon, the restaurant's staff began to wonder even more. But they were open to post homemade "We're Open" signs in the building's windows and give it a go.
El Nopal formerly was located at 110a Hilltop Village Center Drive. The new location is 106 S. Central Avenue.
See previous article from Dec. 3: El Nopal Restaurant Moves to Old Town Eureka
Mendoza said a new menu is coming, and that the staff will host official reopening activities in mid-February.
"While we are training new employees, we have the same head cook here as we had before. He's been with us for the last five years," said Mendoza.
Mendoza said reopening took longer than first anticipated because they had to replace the kitchen hood, redo the bar area and put in a new heating and cooling system.
"We have TVs everywhere, and free Wi-Fi, and we hope customers will come check it out," he said.
As previously reported in Patch, the new party room is complete and ready for special events or group meetings.
