Tucson, AZ – Charro Vida, which opened its doors in 2019, months before the Covid 19 pandemic took hold of the country and economy, has announced its decision to close after 5-plus years of operation. Flores Concepts, the restaurant’s management team, cites challenging unit economics over the last 5 years as well as a difficult opening year that never saw the concept hit its stride as it danced in and out of covid shutdowns. Couple those challenging pandemic impacted years with today’s market conditions and higher costs to sales ratio as elements that influenced this tough decision.

Since its inception, Charro Vida aimed to provide a unique dining experience, blending Sonoran Mexican flavors with Mediterranean diet details and a commitment to quality and community that catered to many special diets from vegan to plant-based, keto to gluten free, and everything in-between. However, the unexpected onset of the COVID-19 pandemic a few months after opening presented significant hurdles that forced the team away from its center of plate concept and more into portable food like bowls that was then difficult to go back to and simply confusing for both operator and customer.

“While we had high hopes for Charro Vida, and our family’s dietary concerns were something that motivated us to create such a diverse menu, the reality of operating during a global pandemic and the subsequent shifts in consumer behavior proved to be more than we anticipated,” said Stacy Ethington, area manager. “We made mistakes along the way trying to cater to so many diets and lifestyles, from our inability to attract the same folks to dinner who were buying dinner at our neighboring Whole Foods, to not having a menu that was profitable as it was trying to meet the many preferences of our guests.”

Stacy goes on to add that; “as the restaurant industry always faces challenges, including labor shortages and supply chain disruptions, our challenge was that, once the pandemic fog was lifted, many dining customers wanted to return to their favorite experiences and Charro Vida simply was too new to ever get the type of traction a restaurant needs when met with the higher costs of operations that we have today.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Ethington added. “We are grateful for our loyal customers and the support we’ve received from the community. We hope to take the lessons learned from this experience into our future endeavors, and we hope we can do that right here in this location.”

The restaurant will officially close its doors on Sunday, May 25th at 3pm. Charro Vida invites its patrons to visit one last time to enjoy their favorite dishes and celebrate the memories made within its walls. Gift cards will be honored until the closing date, and any outstanding reservations will be canceled.

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