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East Side diners, meet your new night-out option. Palenque Grill has opened at Cielo Vista Mall, bringing a live‑music vibe, a weekend brunch, and later hours than most mall restaurants. The South Texas concept held its ribbon‑cutting on August 20, 2025, and is positioning itself as a polished, sit‑down choice for steaks, seafood, and Northern Mexico‑inspired plates.
Why it matters: the brand extends a familiar borderlands lineage into El Paso. Founder Juan Francisco “Don Pancho” Ochoa—who launched El Pollo Loco, then Taco Palenque, and later Palenque Grill—built this concept on family‑style service and recipes from Mexico’s North Pacific states. The Cielo Vista spot operates from a dedicated exterior entrance near James Avery on the mall’s south side…