There’s plywood and construction netting covering El Amigos Cantina, the bar on the corner of Mission and Virginia that’s connected at the hip with Emmy’s Spaghetti Shack.
El Amigos was an odd but not unpleasant place to grab a drink while waiting for a table to open up at Emmy’s, so what will happen to the space now? Emmy’s isn’t expanding; rather, the folls there told Bernalwood the family that runs El Amigos is transforming the joint into a “more upscale” tequila bar. I was made to understand that “more upscale”will likely be relative; rather than being upscale upscale, the tequila bar will simply be more upscale than the old El Amigos — which isn’t really so hard to do, so we’ll have to just wait and see.
PHOTO: Telstar Logistics
Bernalwood 
Hopefully they don’t move toooo far up the scale, I’d really wanted to go into El Amigo, but it just never happened. Any bar that forgoes a sign is worth trying imo.
I don’t think that is accurate at all. A bartender at The Royal Cuckoo just recently “purchased” it. I don’t think the family that owned it has anything to do with the transformation, but I could be wrong. And he never mentioned anything about tequila … I think it will be more in line with what Cuckoo is like. I can’t wait to see the decor!
Thanks Teri. I spoke with someone at Emmy’s , so apparently Bernalwood needs to do some more digging to sort it out.
Pssst: St. Mary’s Pub @Mission & Crescent recently reopened under new ownership and is now “more upscale.” Which was not hard to do there, either. Very welcome change in the hood.
Thank you! That’s beyond my pedestrian operating radius, so haven’t been yet. But I’ll put it on my list.
Ahhh yessss!! A bar for the nectar of the GODS!!! Now I am really excited when I come back for my visit!
I love that place but I love tequila even more. As long as they keep the glow-in-the-dark star stickers, the weird juke box, and the hoochie-coochie-girl bar tenders, I’ll be happy.
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This could be like what happened to The Velvet Cantina. Which was not an overall positive change.
There is a family connection. It’s Emmy’s brother that is opening the bar. He doesn’t seem very pleasant a person if you ask me. But I wish he, and his father the landlord, the best anyway. That building is less a blight on the neighborhood now I suppose. But it’s still in desperate need of a paint job and new tenants.