A new Mexican restaurant will soon be coming to Guthrie Center.

The restaurant will be moving into the vacated space that was most recently occupied by Shipwrecked Saloon, which closed down its operations back in May.

Guthrie County Supervisor Tom Rutledge owns the building that will soon be utilized by the new Mexican restaurant, and he believes it will be a nice addition to the town.

“I think a new restaurant in Guthrie Center will be great.  There are some existing restaurants but there have been a couple that have closed down–we lost a Breadeux Pizza over the last year, year and a half and the bowling alley just closed down recently.  So, I think (this restaurant) will be good for the area, good for the community and good for the county.”

Rutledge says the prospective restaurant owners first contacted him a couple of months ago to discuss the newly available space at his “Talk of the Town” building.  Talks have certainly progressed since that initial conversation, and Rutledge discusses the next steps that are now being taken.

“I think they’re finalizing the contract and signing the lease agreement (shortly).  Then they’ve got some decorating and remodeling to do in the bar part of (the space) where they’re going to be serving food, and we’re currently undergoing some kitchen remodel.  They’ll then come in to install their kitchen equipment and after that I think they’ll be ready for a grand opening.”

The official name of the Mexican restaurant has not yet been released.

Rutledge says the ownership group currently runs a couple other Mexican-style restaurants in central Iowa, one of them being in Indianola.