New restaurants look to replace former Acapulco location in Westwood Village
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina on Glendon Avenue closed last week after 33 years in Westwood Village because of the location’s poor business performance.
By Kylie Reynolds
May 1, 2012 2:04 a.m.
After 33 years, the space that until recently housed Acapulco Mexican Restaurant and Cantina in Westwood Village is looking for a new tenant.
Acapulco quietly closed its doors in Westwood Village last week amid lagging business performance. Since then, other restaurants have already expressed interest in the space, said Josh Weisman, an employee with J.S. Rosenfield and Co., which manages the building on Glendon Avenue.
The restaurant’s closure elicited strong reactions, both positive and negative, on Twitter and Facebook from UCLA students and alumni, as well as community members. The restaurant had been at its location in the Village since 1979.
Every month, Justin Hutton said, he would go to the restaurant with his roommates.
“The all-you-can-eat lunch special ”“ it was perfect for me. I can eat a lot,” said the third-year history student, with a laugh.
Emily Alexeief, a third-year psychobiology student, said she was upset to hear that the restaurant was gone ““ she was holding off on her first visit until her 21st birthday, when she could try their well-known margarita drink special on Mondays.
The decision to permanently close the restaurant was based on the location’s recent business performance, said Rick Van Warner, a spokesman for Acapulco’s parent company Real Mex Restaurants.
Despite the efforts of the staff, the restaurant had been underperforming financially as of late, he said.
“It was a tough call, but one that was necessary for the business,” Van Warner said.
Van Warner said the Westwood closure is not related to Real Mex Restaurants’ bankruptcy filing in 2011. The company has since emerged from bankruptcy, he said.
An online petition calling on Real Mex Restaurants to save the Westwood location of Acapulco was also created shortly after the news broke about the closure.
The petition on Change.org only had a few signatures as of press time.
Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council, said Acapulco had a long run in Westwood, but the closure was expected based on the company’s recent challenges.
He added, however, that the restaurant’s closing provides the opportunity for another full-service restaurant to take that space. He said he expects the space will not be vacant for long.
Weisman said it is too soon to know details about the incoming restaurant, but they are looking to bring in an eatery that adds variation to the Village’s existing restaurant lineup and can use the space’s liquor license.
“We view this as a positive opportunity to make an upgrade to the Village,” he said. “It’s still good real estate.”
The majority of the employees at the Westwood restaurant were transferred to other Acapulco locations, while those who did not were given a severance package, Van Warner said.
