A restaurant site near Hamilton Place mall that for years offered so-called “classic American food” is undergoing a nearly half-million-dollar makeover to serve a menu of Mexican seafood dishes.
“We don’t have that in Chattanooga,” said Alex Leon, the new restaurant’s operator.
Leon, who’s currently renovating the former Shoney’s at Shallowford Village Drive near Interstate-75 amid a cluster of hotels and restaurants, said his new eatery will have such offerings as octopus and Mexican sushi.
“It will have dishes nobody will have [in Chattanooga],” he said, adding that such menus are prevalent in other cities including Nashville and Atlanta.
Leon said he has run a traditional Mexican food restaurant in nearby Kimball, Tennessee, for about a decade called El Toril. Also, he was formerly involved in area eateries in Dunlap and South Pittsburg.