On Friday, October 3, a social media announcement brought the news that Lucharitos Burrito Bar & Arcade in Mattituck will be moving, with the last day of service slated for October 31.
Owner Marc LaMaina posted, “Tough to hit share on this one as we love Mattituck but after seven years it was time to move forward and explore a new opportunity with this model.”
LaMaina declined to reveal more details as the business has not officially signed a lease on the new space, described only as west of Mattituck. He says the new location will be announced in the coming weeks.
“We had a great run,“ says LaMaina, noting that the Mattituck restaurant opened during the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We were a bit insane for that, but we did, and while [the Mattituck location] was never the best performing Lucharitos, we were able to create a great work culture and a strong following in the Mattituck community,” continued LaMaina. “We invested a lot into pushing the envelope … and we did it all with this belief to just keep giving the community something to do and somewhere to take their kids to eat and do something neat.”
Over seven years in Mattituck, the Burrito Bar held live wrestling matches, hosted axe and paint throwing sessions, and screened classic movies in addition to serving up their version of Mexican classics. “We put our love into the space, and now it’s time to move on and test the waters again,” LaMaina says.
Lucharitos has six other locations in Aquebogue, Greenport, Center Moriches, Mineola, Melville and Ronkonkoma.
LaMaina hints that the next Lucharitos restaurant will provide a build-your-own-style meal with an emphasis on speed, as there is heavy foot traffic in the new locale.
In the latest post on their Instagram page, the business notes “We’re beyond grateful to the amazing Mattituck community, our loyal customers who always showed up, and our plaza peers for keeping the energy high,” and goes on to thank the Cardinale family (the Mattituck location’s landlord) and their staff.
“Come see us one last time in Mattituck this month and say ‘see ya soon,’ because we’re not disappearing, just getting ready to turn up the energy in a new home that we hope is going to make you say ‘wow, this is awesome.’”
