Algonquin Mexican Restaurant Opens Downtown

In a location where restaurants have come and gone, newly established Algonquin Mexican Restaurant, 648 Main St., hopes to become a neighborhood fixture.

This will be the first restaurant venture and restaurant experience for owner Juan Rodriguez, who has lived in Carpentersville for 18 years.

“We had very small startup costs," Rodriguez said. "I decided to just try it.”

The star dish of the restaurant is the homemade mole, a sauce made with 12 different types of peppers and spices. The mole is paired with chicken or enchiladas and is served with homemade Mexican rice and beans.

“This is authentic, straight-from-Mexico cooking,” Rodriguez said.

A little bit of mole with some chicken and Mexican rice in a warmed corn tortilla makes an excellent afternoon snack, especially when paired with horchata, a traditional sweet Mexican rice drink with flavors of vanilla and cinnamon.

Dinner combos at the restaurant run from $7 to $10, and include rice and beans.  Algonquin Mexican Restaurant offers carry-out services as well.

Rodriguez’s vision of the restaurant is for it to become a community staple.

“I hope that the restaurant will become part of the community, and that people will choose their local Mexican restaurant over a chain restaurant.”

The neighborhood feel, as well as the proximity to Route 31, were the main factors in Rodriguez’s choice of location.

Algonquin Mexican Restaurant had a soft opening on June 2. Business since then has been “pretty good – steady, for not advertising.” Rodriguez said.

“We’ve had some people who have come by three or four times, even though we’ve only been open two weeks.”

Algonquin Mexican Restaurant will hold a grand opening on June 25-26. During the grand opening, all tacos will be two for the price of one. Fliers with coupons have been sent out to the neighborhood.

Algonquin Mexican Restaurant is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.