Margarita’s Restaurant in PS may not re-open

For the first time, Margarita’s restaurant on Tahquitz Canyon is closed for the summer.

“As of June 29th we shut our doors down and we might not reopen,” said owner Ernesto Gutierrez.

Gutierrez says he had no choice. The air conditioning doesn’t work and he can’t afford all the fixes necessary to get the restaurant back up and running come fall.

“The air conditioning needs to be replaced, flooring, and the kitchen needs work too,” he said of the more than $100,000 of fixes needed.

Gutierrez asked the city of Palm Springs for an economic incentive grant, but was told he didn’t qualify.

City officials told him he needed to be in a specific zone in North or South Palm Springs to get the money.

“I’m very disappointed that the city didn’t do anything further to help us even though we’re so close to Palm Springs downtown,” he said, adding that Margarita’s is only about a block from the center of Palm Springs.

Palm Springs city manager David Ready told us there are rules for each type of grant and that Margarita’s did qualify for a Facade Improvement Grant for exterior renovations.

But Gutierrez says that doesn’t help him. He hoped the city would consider other restaurants and businesses in need of the Major Catalyst Program, which awards up to $250,000 dollars depending on how much the business can invest on its own.

“I think they could have made a few changes and modifications to their grant to help us be included,” Gutierrez said.

He says now about 50 employees will be out of a job and loyal customers who have been dining here for two decades will have to find a new spot to get their Mexican-and-sushi fix.

“We feel that we truly served our locals and our convention center,” Gutierrez said. “And if we were able to renovate and do a lot of things to this building we could attracted a lot of our locals back.”