Barnesville Tlaquepaque Opening in May

Will have fun family atmosphere and include outdoor dining area

By Diane Reynolds, Barnesville Area News  

Tlaquepaque owner Miguel Leon just ordered the fencing this week from local firm Buckeye Steel for an outdoor patio as part of the new Tlaquepaque location in Barnesville.

The restaurant, located at the site of the former Kentucky Fried Chicken/A & W in East Barnesville, will seat 85-95 people inside, and 40 on the patio. It will, Leon promised, have the same menu and atmosphere as the Tlaquepaque in St. Clairsville.  “It will be the same fun-time, family dining experience where everyone is welcome,” Leon said, adding that the lively birthday celebrations popular at the St. Clairsville site will also come to Barnesville

‘We’ll open as soon as we can,” he said, while citing inevitable delays pushing back the hoped-for April debut to May. He is excited at the expansion to Barnesville, saying the local restaurant chain already has a customer base in the town. 

“We wanted to give back,” he explained, noting the length of the commute to the St. Clairsville location. “Now people won’t have to travel so far.”

Leon has applied for a liquor license but expects to open while it is pending approval. “We have to move,” he said.

Along with existing customers, finding the town not saturated in sit-down dining experiences motivated the expansion. “It’s not cheap” to open a restaurant these days, Leon said, but called it a good opportunity, and added that he was working in Barnesville with “good people.”

Many in Barnesville have expressed enthusiasm at the opening. It may be even more noteworthy amid concern over the demise of middle-class dining experiences in other parts of the country, as explored in a recent New York Times story.