Bringing ‘authentic’ Mexican food to Clinton
There’s a new restaurant coming to Clinton early next year, promising to bring what its owners say will be the first “authentic” Mexican food in this area.
Guadeloupe Calderon and Martin Contreras plan to open their El Indio restaurant early next year in the space that has housed two different Mexican restaurants over the past four years in the Centre Plaza shopping center at 1115 N. Charles G. Seivers Blvd., between The Goodwill Store and Jackson-Hewitt Tax Service.
On their Facebook page, the owners say, “We are excited to announce that we are just weeks away from opening our doors. We have been working so hard, day and night to bring you an authentic Mexican restaurant here in Clinton Tennessee.”
Calderon told The Courier News recently that he and Contreras had hoped to have the restaurant open by now.
“We’d like to open as soon as possible,” he said. “We are waiting for the permits, but everything is moving slowly right now. We’re waiting for a permit from the city to build the bar, and we probably will open in about two months. The plan was to open in early December.”
The two men already have two other Mexican restaurants in the Knoxville area — the Taco Boy Sports Bar & Grill in Campbell Station, open for the past seven years, and the Mi Toro Mexican Restaurant in Morristown, open for five years.
“I think Clinton is a good opportunity for us,” Calderon said. “I don’t see any good Mexican restaurants here. We will try to be more authentic than what people are used to.”
Both men are from Oaxaca, one of the 32 states of Mexico, in a region known for its unique cuisine.
Some of the special menu items for the Clinton restaurant will be Mexican street tacos available with a variety of meats, including steak, tongue, cow’s cheek, pork stomach, pork, chorizo, chicken, and chitlins.
The menu is wide and varied, however, and includes lunch specials, various combinations, and homemade tortillas.
Of course, there will be plenty of items familiar to local palates, including nachos, burritos, tamales, chalupas, enchiladas, guacamole and chile rellenos.
El Indio will also have a full bar, serving a variety of beers on tap and in the bottle, margaritas and mixed drinks.
The restaurant will be open seven days a week, probably from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Calderon said.
It will have 12 to 15 employees, and there will be 39 tables with seating for up to 150 people, he said.