By Helen Karakoudas
Special to the Rock River Current
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CHERRY VALLEY — After sitting vacant for more than three years, the former Granite City Food & Brewery space at CherryVale Mall is bustling again as work crews prepare to open El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill.
“We’re hoping to bring energy to this area that people can experience without having to drive to Chicago,” Becky Cerda, El Vallarta general manager, said of the high-end bar, seafood restaurant, and live music venue coming to 7140 Harrison Ave.
“We don’t have an opening date yet. There is still a lot of work to do,” Cerda said Tuesday, as owner Tollo Cruz nodded while directing workers in the 9,000 square-foot interior – a space more than twice the size of many local restaurants.
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Cruz and his wife, Liz, are 20-year veterans of the hospitality industry, having owned as many as 10 restaurants in and around Chicago and a chain of eateries in Mexico.
“We are extremely excited to add El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill to CherryVale Mall. El Vallarta enhances the diversity of restaurants on property and gives our customers and community a new concept of Mexican food,” Justin Shea, CherryVale Mall general manager, said in an email.
That new concept pops in the fusion dishes dotting El Vallarta’s 12-page menu. Along with Mexican seafood standards – whole snapper, prawns, octopus, mussels, lobster tail – there are 10 choices of Mexican sushi (think peppery spices instead of wasabi). And in dishes like the Chicken Shrimp Diablo, both an Alfredo sauce and a house specialty Nayarit red sauce caress fettuccini. Ribeye and New York strip steaks will also come with the house red sauce.
Cerda says a soft opening with food alone might be possible by early summer. The liquor license is pending.
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Adding to the destination appeal when that liquor license comes through is an extensive drink menu, which will feature bottle service for tequila ($199 to $1,200 a bottle) and mezcal ($199 to $999 a bottle), in addition to craft libations like a $180 shareable tequila cocktail (the Olla Vallarta).
El Vallarta will be the third independently owned restaurant at CherryVale Mall and the only stand-alone restaurant on the complex. It anchors the strip of businesses across from Barnes & Noble, which includes Talbots and Chico’s.
Granite City Food & Brewery had occupied the space from 2007 to March 2020. The Rockford location of this Midwestern chain closed after the parent company filed for bankruptcy.
El Vallarta is hiring. For a job application, message Becky Cerda, the general manager, via El Vallarta’s
Facebook page.
About | El Vallarta Sports Bar and Grill
Where: 7140 Harrison Ave., Cherry Valley
Menu: See it here
On the web: elvallartarestaurantbar.com; facebook.com/El-Vallarta-Sports-Bar-Grill-101434389601390
This article is by freelance journalist Helen Karakoudas. Please email any feedback to news@rockrivercurrent.com.