08 October 2013

Sol de México Closes in Olinda Village

This is hardly new news, having taken place a few weeks back, but Sol de México, a great family-owned Mexican restaurant in the Olinda Villa shopping center, closed its doors.

The restaurant business is a tough one, obviously, but operating one in the decaying center was, undoubtedly, doubly (triply?) difficult and it is perhaps amazing that the eatery lasted as long as it did.


The food there was really good, especially the camarones a la diabla (shrimp with spicy mole, or sauce), which this blogger had to take diablita (or about half-strength.)  The cheese enchiladas and the caldo de pescado (fish stew) were also excellent.  And, the chips were homemade, as was the salsa, which offered a citrus tang not often found.  An ice cold Negra Modelo was a nice complement to a meal.

The place had been called Las Redes for years, before it closed and was briefly replaced by an Italian restaurant that was quite good for as little as it lasted.  Now, Sol de México gave it a good run, but has left yet another empty storefront in the 1960s-era center that is an anomaly in these days of strip malls and flashy shopping centers.


Supporting family-owned restaurants is always a good idea in the face of greater and greater pressure by the big chains, but as with the Mongolian BBQ place that just closed in Chino Hills recently, the market is a tough one to survive in.

Thanks to the folks who ran Sol de México and gave it their best shot!
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6 comments:

  1. C4theCanyonOctober 27, 2013 at 10:55 AM

    These guys had the best wet burritos ever, with green or red sauce. Will miss this place.
    OQueso in Chino Hills is good too (not affiliated)

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  2. prsOctober 28, 2013 at 12:18 AM

    Hello C4the Canyon, glad to hear from someone who appreciated Sol de México and who will miss it. Thanks for the comment.

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  3. AnonymousAugust 11, 2014 at 2:59 PM

    I know the place well...My Family owns the property and we are the original owners of Las Redes it was ran by my grandparents and as a family we all worked there growing up. The market is a tough one however we are thinking about making a come back.

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  4. prsAugust 11, 2014 at 6:40 PM

    Hi anonymous, thanks for the comment and am glad to here that a return might be in the works, knowing that, as you said, it's a tough business. Loved both Las Redes and Sol de México and would support another restaurant--so am hoping version 3.0 is in the cards! Thanks again.

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  5. AnonymousMarch 10, 2015 at 3:06 PM

    I'm looking to get in touch with the old owner Maria Gutierrez. If you have a way of contacting her please send it to my email at c300chrissy@aol.com.
    Very much appreciated.

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  6. prsMarch 10, 2015 at 7:47 PM

    Hello anonymous, unfortunately I don't know of any way to contact her. The owner of the property would know, but I'm not sure who that is either. Let me contact some people in Olinda Village and see if anyone can help.

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