New Mexican restaurant opens in Dundee

Source: Monroe Evening News
The first of three new downtown restaurants opened in Dundee over the weekend to healthy, hungry crowds.

Jose’s Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, at 102 Tecumseh St., offers traditional Mexican fare for $6-$8 a plate.

The restaurant is located in a renovated building on the west side of the “T” in downtown Dundee. Gary and Linda Overbay opened the business after a year-long renovation process that is still being completed.

“It’s been great. We’ve has great results here,” Mr. Overbay said. “We had a great weekend. It was nice and steady and there wasn’t too long of a wait. People seemed to be really pleased with the food and the aesthetics.”

The aesthetics include 3-D effects of a Mexican Plaza on the main floor and a desert-like setting on the basement floor: Flames jump out of the wall near a fireplace on the main floor.

This and other effects were created by Constance Jacob, Michael Pezzino and Ian Preest, a design team from Toledo that specializes in Feng Shui design techniques.

“What we brought was a lot of harmony, a lot of bright colors and a lot of dimensional work,” Ms. Jacob said. “It’s just an experience for your eyes. Everywhere you look there’s something unique and unusual. There isn’t an average spot in the building.”

The Overbays are not strangers to Mexican cuisine. Mrs. Overbay and her family own the La Fiesta restaurant, 11191 S. Telegraph Rd., in Erie Township.

The couple bought the Dundee building a year ago and immediately started a one million dollar renovation project, restoring it to what village officials call traditional Dundee architecture, one of the elements of which is high, arched windows.

The 5,000 square-foot restaurant will seat about 100 diners on three floors. Live Mariachi bands will perform periodically, Mr. Overbay said. The restaurant has a bar.

Two other restaurants, a gift shop and an inn are planned for the village center: Downtown business owners are hoping to capture some of the millions of tourists visiting Dundee each year on treks to Cabela’s on the west side of town.

Hours for the restaurant are Sunday-Wednesday: 11 am - 10 pm, and Thursday-Saturday: 11 am - 11 pm.
Source: Monroe Evening News