Mexican restaurant plans April opening in former brewery

Mexican food is replacing barbecue and beer brewed on-site at a downtown Springfield property.

El Paraiso Mexican Kitchen is targeting an April 17 opening at 610 W. College St., a restaurant spokesperson said via Facebook Messenger. Lost Signal Brewing Co. closed at the site last year after five years in business.

El Paraiso Mexican Kitchen, which has an existing restaurant at 305 E. Chestnut St., Ste. C, in Strafford, has a menu that includes nachos, tomahawk steak, fajitas and seafood, according to its website.

The business is organized with the Missouri secretary of state under El Paraiso Mexican Kitchen LLC by Ricardo Valles and Armando Aragon Garcia.

Realtor Gerald Zamora of Zamora Real Estate said via email he brokered the property deal that's slated to close March 31. Declining to disclose financial figures, he said El Paraiso would take possession of the property on April 1. A listing from Zamora on Crexi.com points to an asking price of $700,000 for the 3,784-square-foot building.

The Greene County assessor currently lists the owners as Jack and Kathy Hoke.

Tyler Hoke owned Lost Signal Brewing Co., which shut down in summer 2022. The site is the home of the former KICK radio station building, complete with a radio tower that's been lit up at night in recent years.