In April 2018, MXSW reported local Mexican restaurant chain Barrio Queen was planning to open a location at Tempe Marketplace by the end of the year and was looking for a site in Queen Creek.
It’s taken longer than expected, but both restaurants now are expected to open this fall.
The Tempe Marketplace location is between Thirsty Lion and Ruby Tuesday, and the Queen Creek Marketplace location is across from BevMo and Mountainside Fitness.
Barrio Queen debuted in Old Town Scottsdale in 2011 with Silvana Salcido Esparza, owner of award-winning Barrio Cafe in Phoenix, as the consulting chef.
Esparza left the concept a year before the 2015 opening of the downtown Gilbert location. A third Valley location opened at Desert Ridge in northeast Phoenix in 2017.
