You’ve probably seen one of their popular mobile food trucks around town at various events, but soon you’ll likely be able to grab a bite to eat anytime you want at a new Chando’s Tacos restaurant planned for the old Chase Bank site at Sylvan Corners.
“We’re still working on finalizing some plans and looking to open first quarter next year,” owner Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal to The Sentinel in a phone interview on Thursday. “We’re like 98 percent done with [permits], but we just need to make a couple of updates to the plans before we proceed.”
Plans for the new restaurant were submitted to the city in May, with minor corrections still needed before approval, according to the building department’s Susan McLendon. The restaurant is proposed to fill the old bank site at 7084 Auburn Blvd., which was vacated last year.
Madrigal currently owns four Chando’s Tacos restaurants in the Sacramento region, which feature a Mexican food selection including tortas, burritos, tacos and quesadillas. He also opened Chando’s Cantina in midtown Sacramento in January of this year, with a full bar and late night hours.
The 37-year-old said his business venture began with him personally catering in backyards, followed by his first restaurant opening on Arden Way in 2010 and his later expansion into mobile food truck vending.
“Food trucks and catering has been near-and-dear to my heart and we continue to do a large portion of our business at events during the whole week,” said Madrigal, noting his plans to continue food truck vending in addition to expanding his brick-and-mortar restaurant brand to Citrus Heights. “I think food trucks allow us to be a more dynamic business, because we’ve got different streams of revenue and we can cater to customers in a variety of ways.”
The entrepreneur also said his mobile trucks and catering options allow him to test out different areas to see if they might make a good restaurant location. Citrus Heights was one such area, and Madrigal said he knows “we’ve got a loyal following in that part of town,” based on past experience with his food trucks at local events.
Asked if he has more plans to expand beyond Citrus Heights, Madrigal said he’s got his hands full already with plans to expand his cantina downtown and also open a tortilla factory in West Sacramento.
