One of Charlotte’s favorite spots for Mexican food has just opened a new location
When you enter the new location of Three Amigos Mexican Kitchen & Cantina, it’s all about the experience. From the coral pink and arcade white walls to the dark wicker seating and the rattan pendant lights, Three Amigos embodies the feel and look of a modern Mexican cafe in South Charlotte.
During the soft opening of Three Amigos’ expansion into Colony Place, expect to be immediately transported to a place where sandy beaches and salty margaritas set the tone for the day.
The high-quality food and the menu are still very much the same, with a new focus on storytelling through ambiance, owner Dalton Espaillat said.
The first location, Three Amigos Mexican Grill and Cantina, has become a Plaza Midwood staple since its opening in 2010. The quaint, dive-style grill quickly became known for its traditional — and reasonably priced — Mexican dishes and margaritas.
Three Amigos serves everything from seafood dishes like Camarones a la Diabla that comes with shrimp and onion gently sautéed in a spicy chile sauce to its famous enchiladas like Enchiladas Poblano, which is served with three tortillas filled with chicken and traditional Mexican mole poblano, cheese and sour cream.
“Our food comes from our chefs and our staff,” Espaillat said. “It’s very original from where they are from, that’s why our food is really good. Now, let’s go ahead and tell the story, which is what we want to do with the redesign.”
One aspect of the new design that’ll definitely catch your eye is the sleek, full bar. It’s a focal point of the area with a white quartz bar top and a window offering a view into the open kitchen.
Espaillat has also upgraded the cocktail menu, which is one of the major changes — and one that he’s rather excited about. Three Amigos will serve 100% agave tequila at both locations. The goal is to have everything up and running within the next two weeks, right before it’s officially summer.
“Come try the cocktail menu. We have put a big emphasis on that with the new location,” Espaillat told CharlotteFive. “We have the right presentation. We have the space for it that goes with the atmosphere.”
‘Let’s create wealth for these people’
Dalton and Miriam Espaillat built Raydal Hospitality, the parent group behind Three Amigos, along with the well-loved Sabor Latin Street Grill restaurants that you can find in almost every neighborhood in the Queen City. Espaillat is no stranger to expansion, but he does it with the mindset of both his community and the greater community of the city.
“We provide an opportunity for the staff, allowing them to grow,” he said. “For example, the manager here is actually a partner of the store. We’ve seen great success in me kind of opening that door. Before, I was like 100% owner of everything. Now, it’s like let’s try to create wealth for these people who may not ever get an opportunity. So, let’s all succeed out of this.”
This mindset has paid off, with Espaillat seeing huge success from the five stores that have co-owner-operators in place. “I gave the managers an opportunity to have a stake in the restaurant,” he said. “So, I’m seeing those restaurants are better operated than any of them.”
Espaillat takes this same mindset beyond his family business and into the Charlotte community. He credits the community engagement aspect of the company to his wife, who is a social worker with a background in mental health. She’s also heavily involved in improving the Charlotte community.
“My mentally has been, ‘It’s open for everybody, let’s fight for it,’” he said. “Now that we are in a position of power and we have a seat at the table, we have to use that to give the opportunity to people who may not have it — our people, the minority.”
As a company, Raydal Hospitality has been investing in community engagement working with under-resourced individuals to train, educate and offer them the opportunity to be gainfully employed in the restaurant industry.
Soft opening success
Three Amigos at Colony Place has already seen success during its soft opening phase. The doors are open for dinner service seven days of the week for the next few weeks.
“It’s been going great every day,” Espaillat said. “We have a waitlist that we typically have on busy days like Friday and Saturday nights, but here it’s been almost every day. I’m seeing the success we’re going to get from the neighborhood here. They’ve been waiting for this to open, too.”
Plans for the future include one to two more locations of Three Amigos in the Charlotte area and expanding Sabor Latin Street Grill beyond the Charlotte area.
Three Amigos
2917 Central Ave. A
7741 Colony Road (open now for dinner)
Instagram: @threeamigosclt
Temporary hours: Sunday through Thursday, 4-9 p.m. and Friday through Saturday, 4-10 p.m.
This story was originally published June 3, 2021 at 7:22 AM.
