Hale Street Cantina served its last dinner Sunday, Oct. 11, closing the Mexican restaurant's six-year run in downtown Wheaton.
The restaurant announced the closure on social media Saturday, Oct. 10, Patch reported. Hale Street Cantina opened during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The restaurant built a following around Mexican dishes, hand-shaken margaritas and a tequila list 50 bottles deep, along with creative cocktails, wines and local and imported beer.
In their farewell post, the Hale Street team thanked diners who showed up during the pandemic's early months.
"You embraced a brand-new restaurant during one of the hardest times any of us had known, and because of you we were able to grow and flourish," the team wrote. "We will never forget that."
The owners also thanked current and former staff and said the restaurant had been part of customers' date nights, family dinners, birthdays and ordinary evenings. "Saying goodbye isn't easy," they wrote. "We have loved serving this community, and we leave with deep gratitude for the years you gave us."
No reason for the closure was given in the social media announcement or in Patch's reporting. The restaurant's owners were not named in either source.
The now-vacant space sits on Hale Street, where the city's popular outdoor dining tents program has been extended through the end of October this year, according to the city of Wheaton's October newsletter. The extension gives residents and visitors an extra month to dine and stroll the street. Hale Street will be closed for trick-or-treating on Oct. 31.
Elsewhere in downtown Wheaton, Dough and the Backyard recently rebranded its restaurant space as Front Street Kitchen, pivoting from a pizza-focused menu to modern American cuisine, according to Patch. The Backyard sports bar space remains unchanged.
No announcement has been made about what will occupy Hale Street Cantina's former space.
