Chando’s Tacos opening restaurant in East Sacramento. Here’s where and when

Chando’s Tacos will take over from Opa! Opa! at 5644 J St., #A with plans to open on April 1, founder Lisandro “Chando” Madrigal confirmed Thursday.

Opa! Opa! included a 400-square foot annex called Sweetie’s Desserts, which customers could access through a side door and take to go or back to their tables. Madrigal plans to turn it into an operation called Xolo’s Mexican Munchies that’ll serve elote, nachos, fruit cups, churros and other “Mexican street cravings” from local bakeries, he said.

Opa! Opa! will close for good at 8 p.m. Thursday and open at 20th and J streets in April or May, co-owner Phil Courey said. He declined to give an exact location but said it would be “smaller and easier to manage.” Sacramento’s only Hungarian restaurant, Cafe Marika, closed at 2011 J St. at the beginning of the year; Opa! Opa! had announced it found a midtown location a few days prior.

“I told the community that I don’t think I would open another location unless the perfect location happened to appear, and that would take a miracle,” Courey said. “And a miracle would include high density, low overhead, wouldn’t take as much staff to operate. I didn’t think I’d find anything, and then this location came along.”

The 2,500-square foot building will remain largely unchanged other than a new paint job and signage, Madrigal said. It’s a half-mile from Sacramento State’s entrance in a small shopping center, with East Portal Park and a neighborhood to the southwest.

“I like that we have businesses that can support and sustain Chando’s during the day for lunch, and then a community that can walk or ride bikes to Chando’s to enjoy the patio and some tacos or a beer,” Madrigal said. “The community in East Sac has seen our brand for many years, and I know people are going to really like it.”

Madrigal began catering while working for Apple’s corporate sales team in 2007, and opened his first restaurant in 2010. Chando’s Tacos has locations in West Sacramento, Arden Arcade, Roseville and southeastern Sacramento with a Citrus Heights store expected to open within the next week at 7084 Auburn Blvd. Madrigal also owns the sit-down, boozier Chando’s Cantinas in downtown Sacramento and the El Dorado Hills Town Center.

Chando’s plans to hire about 30 full- and part-time employees at the Citrus Heights and East Sacramento locations, Madrigal said. Email jobs@chandostacos.com to apply.