Sad news, kids. The Mattito's Tex-Mex restaurant that's occupied the cozy spot on Routh Street for the past 14 years is moving, to much less cozy Centrum Building at the corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Cedar Springs Road. We've talked about this particular parcel of land before, most recently when it was the home of Manuel's Creative Cuisine (and then again when they tried harder).
If it seems odd Mattito's would want to move at all, they didn't exactly have a choice: The plot of land was recently sold to a real estate developer that will turn it into more apartments. But according to a statement from Mattito's, they were looking to move to a bigger place anyway.
"This is a first-class location with great visibility, a lot of free guest parking and the ability to expand the quality and scope of services we provide our guests," founder and president Jeff Frankel said in a statement. "We will have even more banquet space than our current location and it can be configured to accommodate larger events. Patio space will be over 5 times larger and the restaurant can be 'opened up' to take advantage of good weather days."
The primary problem of the spot at Centrum is it's hard to find. But considering Mattito's most famous item, its Bob Armstrong Dip, isn't even on the menu, their diners just might be the skilled hunters this place needs. Plus, Star Canyon did great there in its heyday.
Frankel added that they've consistently had to turn guests away from the Mattito's on Routh Street and now will be able to serve more and reduce wait time.
Mattito's will move the last week of November, taking its entire staff of 70 people along with it to the Centrum location.
