The red lights that spell out where diners can find fast, late-night eats are about to be turned back on. Three of the eight Filiberto’s Mexican Food restaurants that abruptly closed in June reopened on Thursday.
Filiberto’s restaurants in Phoenix, at 91st Avenue and Thomas Road, in Apache Junction, near Signal Butte Road and Main Street, and in Peoria, off 83rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road, are again welcoming customers starting Thursday, said Luis Espinoza, a commercial real estate broker who represents the restaurant group.
Those and five other restaurants were owned and operated by a franchisee, Compadres Group. The restaurants were shuttered because Compadres Group CEO John Schwimmer experienced personal “unforeseen medical issues,” Cesar Tenorio, a member of the family that founded Filiberto’s, told Phoenix New Times in June. Since the restaurants closed, the Tenorio family has been working with Espinoza to take over the leases of those locations.
The Filiberto’s locations set to reopen are:
- 2955 N. 91st Ave., Phoenix – now open
- 13972 N. 83rd Ave., Peoria – now open
- 10749 E. Apache Trail, Apache Junction – now open
- 17224 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix
- 1440 N. Dysart Road, Avondale
- 930 E. Pecos Road, Chandler
- 1397 E. Williams Field Road, Gilbert
- 9150 E. Indian Bend Road, Scottsdale
What happened?
The restaurants, known for their 24/7 drive-thrus and carne asada burritos, quietly closed in June. Six of the eight locations, however, were still marked as open online. That left many would-be customers confused and frustrated when they pulled up expecting to order, and were greeted with “closed” signs instead…