El Limon, one of the region’s most popular Mexican restaurants, has expanded to more than 20 locations since it was founded in 2010, and Glenside has offered to host its most recent branch.
Wesley Development Group, owned by Mark Irwin, Ken Buchholz, and Kevin Burke, owns a number of properties throughout Glenside. They submitted paperwork to Cheltenham Township roughly five months ago, and a “Coming Soon” sign was posted in the door in July.
The grand opening, while still not set in stone, is imminent.
“We’re hoping within the next couple of weeks, by the end of this month or the beginning of next month, we can open,” Valente Vazquez, branch franchisee, said. “We’re just waiting for inspections. We’re not going to open without the proper permits.”
After a successful visit from the Montgomery County Board of Health, the Township and the fire marshal, El Limon will be green light go.
The storefront property at 11 Wesley Avenue is the former site of Anne’s Kitchen Table. It later became Palermo’s Cafe, which permanently closed in March of this year.
“We’re excited to see them come in,” Mark Irwin, the property’s co-owner, said. “We think it’s the start of something good. It’s a daunting task to do what he did, especially outfitting the kitchen for his style of food versus what it was. To get everything improved it took longer than he anticipated, but he did it the right way.”
Area residents will no longer have to rely on El Limon’s Ambler location, which opened in 2012, or the newer Hatboro location, to get their taco fix.
“We wanted to have a viable restaurant in Glenside, so we reached out to El Limon. That’s the type of restaurant that we want to bring to Glenside,” Irwin said. “We wanted to do something that the residents could enjoy and look forward to go to.”
Fingers are crossed that the restaurant will be ready in time for the Downtown Glenside Foundation’s First Friday Winterfest, which will take place a few steps away from El Limon’s front door on Friday, December 2 in Wesley Plaza.
“It would just great if they could be open for First Friday,” Kathy Phillips, community outreach coordinator for the DGF, said. “I’m really hoping it happens.”
Glenside Local will be providing updates on the grand opening as we learn of them. For more on the founders and backstory of the El Limon franchise, you can check out Philly Voice’s July article.
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