Main Street St. Charles will soon get a taste of Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas.
A second location of the popular Mexican restaurant debuts tomorrow in the former home of Little Nashville (142 N. Main). Arzola’s will offer the same menu and drinks as the flagship in Benton Park, with one key difference: brunch.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Concept
A descendant of the beloved Chuy Arzola’s, which first opened in Dogtown in the late 1980s, Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas was an instant hit when it debuted in Benton Park in May 2022.
In late 2024, Ron and Larisa Webb purchased the restaurant, pledging to keep its original recipes and character intact.
“We love it and wanted to bring it to more people,” Larisa says. “We’d been looking for a site in St. Charles since we bought Arzola’s.”
“Main Street’s culture, energy, and restaurant scene fit the brand perfectly,” adds Ron. “It’s a prime spot in a prime spot.”
The Little Nashville space, which opened in December 2024 and shuttered nine months later, already had a restaurant infrastructure in place, “so the lift wasn’t as heavy as it could have been,” Ron says.
The Atmosphere
The corner building mirrors the Benton Park flagship’s 145 seats, though the layout differs, with 104 seats indoors and 35–40 on the side patio. “We won’t have to rely as heavily on outdoor seating as we do in Benton Park,” Ron says.
The couple brought in new tables and chairs to the 1,200-square-foot dining room, with pops of color inspired by Arzola’s green, navy, and red color scheme. Ron says they aimed to make the interior as “minimalist as possible” to showcase the historic 19th century building’s exposed brick walls. Shelves with cacti drive the Southwestern theme home, and the couple plans to install a mural painted on wood in the future to round out the ambiance.
“It will be the perfect spot for date nights and special occasions,” Larisa says. “Main Street is such a community-focused place where people come and enjoy things, and we want to be a part of that.”
The bar got resurfaced and shortened by 6 feet to make way for more seats.
And the remodeled St. Charles kitchen—which is newly outfitted with top-of-the-line equipment—is quadruple the size, allowing for catering and commissary operation to help supply the flagship.
The Menu
The St. Charles location will feature the same menu as Benton Park, including protein-heavy steak, chicken, shrimp, and sweet potato fajitas, as well as “Real-Deal Handmade Guacamole” (with chile-dusted chips), quesadillas, and Fancypants Nachos (with every chip perfectly dressed). Arzola’s classic queso (fondly called “the sauce of life” by regulars) will also be on the menu.
The beverage program includes premium margaritas served frozen or on the rocks, available in traditional and zero-proof formats. A substantial selection of tequila and mescal will also be available and offered in 2-ounce pours, accompanied by house-made tomato-chipotle sangrita, lime wedge, and salt.
“We want to be known as a full-service restaurant, not a late-night bar,” Ron says. “We’re happy to provide people with great food, a great experience, and a few margaritas—that’s enough for us.”
New to the St. Charles location will be Arzola’s weekend brunch, which will tentatively roll out in March. “There’s so much foot traffic on Main Street on weekends,” Larisa says. “It’s a natural fit.”
Arzola’s head chef Adan Melendez, who hails from Puebla in east central Mexico, developed the weekends-only menu with dishes such as huevos rancheros and chilaquiles, available from 9–11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Birria Benedict will showcase Melendez’s slow-braised beef birria atop handmade black bean corn masa sopes, served with a sunny-side-up egg, roasted poblano hollandaise, and pico de gallo. Brunch beverages will include mimosas, micheladas, and Café De Olla (a traditional dark roast Mexican coffee brewed with cinnamon, orange peel, and piloncillo).
The Backstory
Eddie Arzola founded Chuy Arzola’s in 1989. The restaurant was named after his father, who worked in restaurants but never had one of his own. It quickly became a Dogtown staple for Tex-Mex fare.
Decades later, Eddie and his son Coby partnered with Derek Fatheree to launch Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas in Benton Park in May 2022. A year ago, they sold the restaurant to the Webbs, who saw growth potential. “We believed that Coby and his dad cracked the code between fantastic food and excellent service, and we wanted to offer that to more people,” Ron says.
The Webbs are in a position to do just that. Both veterans of the restaurant industry, Larisa brings experience in hospitality training and HR, while Ron’s career includes executive roles overseeing a six-state franchise group, including as division president for Steak ’n Shake.
“I wanted to do things differently here from a people perspective,” he says. “As restaurant costs are rising, we’re focusing more on people as the cornerstone of our business. We put a lot into the training of our leadership team and have super high standards and the lowest turnover I’ve ever seen, so I know we’re doing things right.”
The Webbs plan to expand steadily, opening six locations by 2030. As for where they plan to expand next, Ron hints at both local and regional growth: “We’re both from Atlanta, and we still have family there.”
Arzola’s Fajitas & Margaritas
📍142 N. Main, St. Charles
⏰ Mon: 4–9:30 p.m; Thu: 4–9:30 p.m.; Fri: 4–10:30 p.m. Sat: 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m. – 9:30 p.m.
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