It’s been a long time in coming, but Little Cancun is slated to open its doors at 3040 S. Delaware Ave. in Bay View on Tuesday, April 23.

That’s just in time for the restaurant’s Taco Tuesday special, which features three ground beef tacos for $4.50 or $5.25 with cheese.

Plans for the restaurant were announced last summer, and there was hope the restaurant might open near the end of 2018. But, in many ways, the timing for the restaurant couldn’t be better.

The bar and restaurant is now part of a mini-retail corridor which includes successful small businesses including Stag Barbershop, Bentley’s Pet Stuff, TradeCraft, Commonplace and SmallPie. Even more, guests who last entered the space when it housed R&D Pub or Hector’s Mexican Restaurant, will be impressed with the work that’s been put into the interior.

The restaurant is fresh and clean thanks to new paint, refurbished hardwood flooring and brand new tile. The bar has been preserved, but new seating has been added, along with chalkboards sporting special offerings and numerous televisions to accommodate guests who wish to gather to watch sports.

"We installed televisions so people can watch the game," notes owner Veronica Cervera. "But we'll keep the sound low so it won’t disturb other customers."

The dining room, which seats about 50, features cheerful lilac-toned walls with natural stone accents, new carpeting and comfortable plush seating.

Even the kitchen has undergone a refresh, including the installation of new equipment thanks to the restaurant’s work with Fein Brothers, the family owned restaurant supply purveyor at 2007 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.

"The space was so ugly before," notes Cervera, "But I really had a vision for the space. It took way longer than we expected, but I’m really happy with how it turned out."

On the menu

The venue is a second location for Little Cancun, which has been operated by Cervera and her family at 7273 S. 27th St. in Franklin since 2004. And guests who’ve fallen in love with the venue’s house-made tortilla chips, margaritas and daily specials can look forward to all of those things in Bay View.

Guests can also enjoy a full menu of appetizers, egg dishes, tacos, burritos and enchiladas along with popular dishes like chunky beef nachos supreme, shrimp soup and chicken fajitas, combination plates and entrees including camarona la diabla and huachinango (fried red snapper served with rice and pico de gallo). Prices range from $7.50 to 14.95.

Among Little Cancun’s daily specials are Monday all-you-can-eat combination plates featuring ground beef tacos, cheese and onion enchiladas and bean tostadas for $13.95 and $4.50 margaritas; Tuesday ground beef tacos for $4.50, plus domestic beer for $2.75. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, guests can enjoy their choice of beef, ground beef, chicken, pork or cheese and onion enchiladas with rice and beans for $9.95 and strawberry margaritas for $5 each.

There are also $9.95 chimichangas on Thursdays (plus $3 Corona and Corona Light) and Sundays and an all-you-can-eat breaded cod fish fry on Friday ($12.95). Cervera has also added a new menudo special on Sundays, served with corn or flour tortillas for $9.95.

For Cinco de Mayo, the restaurant will feature steak taco dinners for $8.95, chimichanga dinners for $9.95, menudo for $9.95 and drink specials including $3 Coronas and house margaritas for $5.

Beginning April 23, Little Cancun Bay View's hours will be Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.