El Rayo Taqueria Finds New Portland Location For Spring Opening
The popular Mexican restaurant that was forced to shut down will re-open in the spring with a new location and an expanded menu.
According to the Portland Press Herald, one of Portland's favorite Mexican restaurants, El Rayo Taqueria, has found a new location to set up shop in and will open sometime in the spring of 2016 at 26 Free St.
El Rayo has previously occupied a tremendous corner lot near the Casco Bay Bridge that formerly housed a gas station. Tod Dana and his business partner transformed that space into a bright, outdoor-friendly hotspot that eventually put El Rayo on Portland's culinary map. However, when their lease was up, the property owner, J.B. Brown & Sons, decided the space would be repackaged as a condo complex and parking garage.
So El Rayo began their search and found their new Free Street location on Monday. The space they'll be taking over was previously the Papier Card and Stationary store. Dana told the Press Herald that the space is larger than the previous El Rayo location and that they will petition the city to build a deck off the back of their new location. That will allow guests to continue enjoying their outdoor El Rayo experience.
The menu will see some small changes as well. Dana expects a significant increase in breakfast and lunch traffic at the new location. El Rayo will add breakfast burritos as well as new salads and soups to the menu. Their Scarborough location on Route 1 is still open to the public.
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