NOW OPEN: Elsa’s new cantina-style Mexican restaurant “not your mother’s”

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

The co-owner of Elsa’s Mexican Restaurant has a message for prospective customers of his new cantina-style restaurant in the Sugarcreek Plaza off Wilmington Pike slated to open on July 5.

“This doesn’t look like your parents’ Elsa’s,” Jason Hemmert said. “And we didn’t want it to be your parents’ Elsa’s.”

>> RELATED: Elsa's also eyeing a new location in Springboro

Hemmert has nothing against tradition, but the newest Elsa’s, which will be called Elsa’s Corner Cantina, ups the game a bit for the locally based Mexican chain.

BEST OF DAYTON: Elsa’s wins for Best Margarita

A sneak preview of the patio at the new Elsa's Corner Cantina in Sugarcreek Plaza on Wilmington Pike. MARK FISHER/STAFF

Credit: Mark Fisher

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Credit: Mark Fisher

The space at 6204 Wilmington Pike in the Sugarcreek Plaza previously housed Caramella’s Italian Kitchen, and, before that, Murphy’s Irish Pub and Barleycorn’s. But it has been renovated extensively.

RELATED: Centerville strip mall demolished next to Elsa’s

 

The new restaurant will seat 135 inside and another 50 or so on a breezy patio. There are 30 large-screen televisions inside, and another five on the patio, Hemmert said. And perhaps most important: The original Elsa's "Bad Juan" margarita will be available on tap.

>> RELATED: Dayton area's 5th Elsa's gearing up to open in Sugarcreek Twp.

The kitchen will start off with a fairly straightforward Elsa’s menu, but down the road, will produce specials that, if they prove successful, will find their way onto Elsa’s menus elsewhere, Hemmert said.

RELATED: Elsa’s Kettering reopens today after 3-week makeover

A sneak peek inside the new Elsa's Corner Cantina in Sugarcreek Plaza on Wilmington Pike. MARK FISHER/STAFF

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Elsa’s operates four restaurants and sports bars in and around Dayton: the original location on Linden Avenue in Dayton, on Wilmington Avenue in Dayton, on Far Hills Avenue in Centerville, and on East Stroop Road in Kettering.

The restaurant will employ as many as 50, and is still hiring back-of-the-house help, Hemmert said.

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