Reader mailbag: What’s the holdup with Cocina Madrigal?

🫔 An email from MXSW reader tsmithradio last week:

Jess – How about an update on Cocina Madrigal in Phoenix. Any idea why they haven’t moved back into their original location that caught fire a couple of springs ago?

Great timing on this one, tsmithradio – there’s actually fresh news to share.

The short answer to your question: construction and permitting delays, plain and simple. The fire you’re remembering happened in March 2024, an electrical fire that broke out during service at the original building near 16th Street and Broadway Road.

Everyone got out fine, but the space itself was left gutted, and what the Madrigal family expected to be a fairly quick rebuild turned into a much longer slog.

Brian Madrigal, who runs the place alongside his father, chef Leo Madrigal, and brother Edson, has said flatly that the process took a lot longer than they ever anticipated – permitting held things up, then construction setbacks kept pushing the timeline further out.

Enter food truck

Rather than shutter completely for two-plus years, the family set up a food truck just a block away back in the summer of 2025.

Calling it a ‘‘food truck’’ undersells it a bit. There’s a misted patio, indoor air-conditioned seating, and servers taking orders, so it functions more like a scaled-down restaurant than a typical truck.

It’s covered about 80% of the original menu, including the tacos, enchiladas, and burritos regulars know, along with made-to-order guac and a few aguas frescas flavors. That stopgap is a big part of why the restaurant hasn’t just quietly disappeared during the rebuild and why the original staff has stuck around the whole time.

Reopening imminent

Here’s the good part: the wait finally looks like it’s ending. The family is now targeting a mid-to-late October reopening. The renovated building will keep its same layout, but with new paint, tile, and artwork, plus improved bathroom accessibility and a repaved parking lot with a few added spaces.

The menu’s picking up a couple of new dishes – a shrimp tostada and a chicken relleno – alongside its award-winning wild mushroom enchiladas (pictured).

The food truck will keep running until the grand reopening happens, so there’s no gap in service. No exact date yet, but it’s worth following Cocina Madrigal on Instagram if you want to be first in line when the doors reopen.