Fajita's Fuzes Mexican, Italian Food in Bloomingdale

From Hola! to arrivederci, Bloomingdale's new restaurant, Fajita's, is bringing the flavors and feelings of both authentic Mexican and Italian foods together under one roof.

When Fajita's opened four months ago at 125 Hamburg Turnpike, it was originally intended to only serve Mexican food, according to General Manager Edwin Melgar. But about a month ago, the popular Butler Main Street Italian restaurant La Baita, which is under the same ownership, was forced to close after rent on the building tripled, Melgar said. Now the owners have decided to continue that business out of Fajita's as well.

La Baita had been serving Italian dishes in that location for more than 10 years.

"Instead of opening a new restaurant, we brought the chef here," Melgar said, explaining that Fajita's will now offer food from both cultures.

Melgar is hoping to spread the word that even though La Baita is no longer physically located in the area, the food of the restaurant lives on at Fajita's.

"We had a good clientele there," he said. "We don't want to lose them."

Customers are able to order off of either the Mexican or Italian menu at any time at Fajita's. Since the change in the past month, he said, customers have generally ordered Italian food half the time and Mexican food the other half of the time.

Originally, Melgar said Fajita's was opened to be able to offer a different genre of food to Bloomingdale.

"In the area, there's a lot of pizzerias," he said.

Business was quiet over the summer, but Melgar said the restaurant has seen more customers this month, with children returning to school and more famlies eating out. The restaurant has also experimented with offering special events, such as "Superbowl Sundays," where all food and drinks are half-priced on Sundays during the football season.

On the Mexican side, Fajita's offers dishes such as enchiladas, chimichangas and tacos. For Italian food, pasta dishes and traditional favorites are served. Dishes range in price from $12.95 to about $19.95.

The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

For now, Melgar said the restaurant is not planning to change its name to also reflect the Italian menu.