A new Mexican food restaurant with a bar could open in a long-vacant former Dunkin’ Donuts on Simsbury’s Hop Meadow Street at the beginning of September.
Daniel Stevens will appear before Simsbury’s Zoning Commission tonight, applying for a liquor license for the planned La Joya Mexican Kitchen at 834 Hop Meadow St. Under current plans, the restaurant would be mostly take-out focused, but would have a 28-seat indoor capacity (including seven bar seats) and up to 28 seats for outdoor dining.
“We’re really excited for this,” Stevens said in a Monday morning interview. “We looked at the space and thought it’d be a nice space to add a swanky little bar”
Stevens said he’s renovating the kitchen and other interior space, as well as the exterior facade.Â
Initially La Joya would only serve dinner, Stevens said, but may add lunch service later. Stevens is currently in the process of hiring (although he plans to ramp up that effort in August), and could employ as many as 25 people.
The restaurant opening would come after a brutal year-plus for eateries, most of which did significantly less business because of pandemic-related restrictions. In November, the Connecticut Restaurant Association reported 600 restaurants in Connecticut had closed since the pandemic hit the U.S. in March of 2020.Â
Â
