Ann Arbor’s Isalita Cantina Mexicana has officially closed on December 22. Owner Adam Baru is converting the space at 341 E Liberty St into an event venue called Mani Next Door to compliment, literally, his restaurant, Mani Osteria & Bar in the adjacent space. This news was first seen in The Michigander .
Isalita Cantina Mexicana opened in 2012 and has since served the neighborhood with authentic Mexcian fare. However, growing competition in the cuisine and the high competition density drove Baru to re-evaluate the business and eventually decided to make some changes.
“Isalita has been a wonderful restaurant for us the past 12 years. in that time, the mexican restaurant options have exploded in town. On Liberty street alone there are 6-7 locations. All do a good job, we just got tired of competing with so many others and figured there was a better use of our space; both creatively for the chefs and as a new business opportunity for me,” Baru told What Now Detroit in an email.