Restaurant Buzz
by April 14, 2014 12:00 am 77 views
Just weeks after closing Italian eatery Mezza Luna amid financial issues and after failure to pay taxes, chef Juan Barcenes plans to open a new restaurant with an entirely different concept.
A banner sign announcing El Jabali Mexican Grill will open soon now hangs outside what used to be Mezza Luna at 1021 Razorback Road.
Jabali is Spanish for wild boar.
The Mezza Luna Facebook page has been renamed Jabali Jabali and a post dated April 4 said: “Taxes have been [paid]. Happy to announce that the new restaurant will be open soon. Ole for El Jabali Mexican Grill.”
A post dated April 10 on the social media website said the restaurant would open April 11 at 11 a.m.
State tax employees would not confirm or deny that Mezza Luna had settled up on its debts, but it has been taken off the list of delinquent accounts available online.
The Fayetteville A&P Commission reported in March that $598.63 of the city tax debt had been paid.
Barcenas previously owned Picasso’s Pizza in west Fayetteville and worked as a chef at Bordino’s for many years before opening Mezza Luna in March 2009.