St. Pete Restaurant Group Closing Cali-Mex Concept

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — About two months after abruptly shutting down its downtown St. Pete Red Mesa Cantina location, Red Mesa Group announced the closure of another of its Mexican-inspired restaurants.

“After much thought — and ultimately a very sudden and difficult decision — we have made the decision to permanently close Mercado West. Mercado West will remain open through August 16, allowing us to give our team notice and to help them transition into new opportunities wherever possible,” the Red Mesa Group wrote in a social media post on Wednesday.

Mercado West, a Cali-Mex concept, opened less than a year ago, in October, at 6001 Central Ave., nearly three years after the project was announced for the former Two Graces property.

The Red Mesa Group partially blamed the economy for the restaurant's impending closure.

“We worked hard to adapt the concept, but after months of trying, it was no longer sustainable. While economic challenges certainly played a role, we recognize that those challenges and our own economic risks are part of being business owners. We gave it everything we had, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough,” according to the company’s post. “Throughout these changes, we've remained committed to our team, moving as many employees as possible into positions at our remaining restaurants and continuing to support them however we can.”

Red Mesa Cantina suddenly closed its location at 128 3rd Street S. in early June. No reason was given for that closure.

Within weeks, the Atlanta-based taco chain Rreal Tacos purchased the three-story property with plans to open a multi-concept dining and hospitality destination in St. Petersburg.

Red Mesa Group said in its post that during the closure of Red Mesa Cantina and Red Mesa Events in June, the company was unable to refund guest deposits until the process was approved by the court.

“However, we worked closely with our attorney and the court to pursue full refunds for every affected client because we believed it was the right thing to do. While we understand the frustration surrounding the limited communication during that time, our ability to communicate publicly was restricted by the ongoing court proceedings. In the end, every single client received a full refund,” the company wrote.

Other concepts from Red Mesa Group, the Red Mesa restaurant at 4912 4th Street N. and the Mercado location at 1100 1st Ave. N. in the Edge District, currently remain open, the company said.

See Also:

• Downtown St. Pete Red Mesa Cantina Building Bought By Atlanta Taco Chain
• Taco Chain Building First FL Restaurant In Tampa Bay Area
• Popular Mexican Restaurant Abruptly Closes In Downtown St. Pete
• $190K In Back Wages Recouped From St. Pete Restaurants