NORFOLK, Va. — It’s a new look to a familiar place in the Ghent neighborhood in Norfolk.
Soon, the doors at 1421 Colley Avenue will be back open.
"People have seen this from the ground up, basically, for when we had holes in the floor for the plumbing," Chris Arney told 13News Now.
By as early as the first week of April, new Mexican restaurant "Tacos Y Tequila" will move into space that once held the long-standing popular restaurant and bar, Red Dog Saloon.
For years the building at the corner of Shirley and Colley Avenues stood empty, un-used and unable to get back to its normal and full operations following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What was once here looked totally different inside. We shrank the bar down, so we’re more of a restaurant not as much a bar," Arney said.
Arney is part of a trio of partners, along with Jesus Torres and Ronald Martinez, who are turning the the space around. He said the owner of the building sought a restaurant that fit the facility's aesthetic and overall look from the outside.
Torres, the restaurants Chef, said there are several other Tacos Y Tequilas ventures in Pennsylvania, but this will be the first in Virginia, with a occupancy capacity for roughly 225 people.
"I think it means a lot here because it’s been vacant. A lot of people come by and ask us, 'When are you opening when are you opening.' This is where a lot of people came in Ghent," Arney said.
Their soon-to-be-opening comes just as two businesses along the Colley Ave corridor close: the Ynot Italian restaurant and the Colley Pharmacy just next door.
The restaurant will open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., but will stay open later to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.