When Ben Seabury heard the news that the East Bay’s beloved El Charro was closing its doors after 73 years, he grabbed the family and rushed to the Lafayette restaurant for one last meal.
With his wife, three daughters, aunts, uncles and the rest of the Seabury crew, they sat at their favorite table in the hacienda-style dining room over enchiladas and tostadas, as they had for countless milestones over the years, lamenting how the economic hardships of the pandemic forced the longtime owners into bankruptcy.
“Ben, you’ve got to buy this,” his mother-in-law said.
And he did. Seabury, a Danville resident, owns several Bay Area restaurants, including Little Star and The Star, Italian-style eateries with locations in Albany, Oakland and San Francisco, as well as Ben ‘N Nick’s, in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood. Together with business partner Jon Guhl of 1100 Group, Seabury plans to reopen the Mexican restaurant next month in Walnut Creek.
But it won’t be the same — not exactly. Located inside the former Maria Maria at 1470 N. Broadway, the restaurant will be called The Original El Charro 1947. It will have elements of the old-school Mexican-American restaurant — El Charro’s popular chile relleno will grace the menu, for example, as will the famous blue cheese butter — combined with more contemporary Mexican offerings. Think quesabirria, elote, fish tacos made with local rock cod and a wide selection of mezcal.
But Seabury, who also owns Palanco Cantina, a contemporary Mexican restaurant and bar in downtown Sacramento, is determined to recreate the unique ambiance of El Charro, too.
“I felt and respected that vibe and heritage,” he explains. “The fact that it was so multigenerational, with third-generation and fourth-generation customers. I’ve always been fond of that.”
The entire staff — from dishwashers and cooks to servers — used to work at either El Charro or Maria Maria, which the 1100 Group also purchased and has been running for the past six weeks. Seabury says at this point he has not had to hire outside those two restaurants. It’s one of the reasons he believes the hospitality El Charro customers came to expect is not going to change.
“You should expect our staff members to know your name after you’ve been there a few times,” he says.
Inside, you can expect a fresh coat of paint and minor upgrades, like new booths, decorative fixtures, LED lights and a new trellis over the patio. The original El Charro sign — it came with the sale, along with recipes and vintage decor — will hang in the bar alongside a salvaged wood sign from Cantina, the restaurant that sat on the property before Maria Maria.
“We’re really trying to show the history of Mexican-American food and culture from the late 1940s to now in terms of food, decor and service,” Seabury says.
Jorge Hernandez, a former sous chef at Puesto in Concord, will run the kitchen and work closely on the menu with 1100 Group culinary director Sharon Li. New items will include Mexican barbecue ribs or costillas; charro beans, or stewed pintos with chorizo, bacon and serrano chiles; and Mexican cornbread made with fresh corn, Mexican cheeses, roasted poblano peppers and poblano crema. The latter two dishes are popular at Polanco.
They’re bringing back the most popular items from El Charro, including the enchiladas, fajitas, guacamole tostada and combination plates. Look for the return of the El Charro margarita (with an upgraded tequila) as well as new cocktails, including an Old Fashioned made with mezcal.
When it opens in December, The Original El Charro will serve lunch and dinner daily and offer delivery and to-go via online ordering and third-party services. Brunch will follow in the new year along with late-night service.
