A popular El Salvadoran restaurant has moved around the corner in Arlandria.
Last Friday, El Cuscatleco Restaurant held a packed grand opening at their new 3,359-square-foot location at 3819 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray North shopping center. The restaurant/dance club was forced to move from their longtime home at 251 W. Glebe Road since Housing Alexandria is turning the property into a massive affordable apartment building.
“This is a much nicer space,” said Rose Ascencio, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Oscar Salinas. “We kept that place together with tape and rubber bands. We were absolutely blessed to find this space so close by.”
El Cuscatleco Restaurant features live entertainment on weekends, and hundreds of revelers routinely packed into the old location. The new location is still under construction, but the interior includes a stage, a full bar and a number of slot-like skill gaming machines.
Ascencio said she and her husband signed a 10-year lease with the option to renew.
The new restaurant is also a block away from Fanaticos Sports Bar and Grill (3901 Mount Vernon Avenue), which also features El Salvadoran music and food, although Ascencio says her restaurant has more of a family-friendly vibe.
“We’re a family restaurant,” she said. “The new space is a work in progress, but we’re very happy to be here.”