Tex-Mex Dining Comes to Kings Park

A new restaurant is hitting the Kings Park dining scene early next year.

Sombrero’s, a Tex-Mex dining spot offering sit down service as well as take out, is slated to open mid to late January of 2012 and is the latest venture for local Mike Franchi, owner of Dixie’s Smokehouse and Andersen’s Deli. The restaurant will take a space left vacant by Happy Days in Tanzi Plaza.

“It’s modeled after a Chipotle type place, but on steroids. It will have a bigger menu,” said Franchi.

There will be an outdoor dining patio as well as a call ahead service where patrons can order food in advance and have it brought out to their car as they wait in the take away parking spaces.

Franchi says he is still perfecting the menu but diners can expect to see tacos, burritos and fajitas among other specialties.

“We will have signature and build your own burritos. You can order a platter or make a bowl or platter of your own. Everything will be out. You pick and choose,” says Franchi.

There will also be a full bar with signature margaritas and Mexican beers.

The dining space will be smaller, seating about 22 guests with most of the business being generated by take-out. Franchi says he is playing it smart and sticking with a recipe he has seen work before with Dixie’s- using a smaller venue with a lower overhead to help keep the pressure off in an economy that has consumers clutching to their dwindling disposable income.

“It’s been in the works for a couple years, did some research. It has to be a value-based menu. We try to keep it at a price point that works,” said Franchi.

Sombrero's will be Franchi's third restaurant in Kings Park. He opened Andersen's in 1994 and Dixie's in 2009.

"We like to keep it small and try to keep it simple," he said.