Gourmet Mexican Restaurant Slates Grand Opening for June 27th

UPDATE JUN 21, 2019

After about 10 months in the making, Don Pepe’s is finally done with construction and they are breaking in their new staff by doing some invite-only days. They will will have a soft opening on Monday and then the official grand opening is Thursday, June 27th.

There are lots of pictures from my lunch below, and after that I’ll tell you what to expect when you go.

: front

: roses outside

: nachos

: friends!

: bowl

: servers

: punch and dips

: grill

: press

: toppings1

: toppings2

: chips

: spicy

: menu

: lighting1

: lighting2

: the line

: rear tables

: map

The owners, Jose and Esmeralda, have gone to great lengths to make sure the restaurant runs well, and that includes the parking lot. They have planted beautiful bright orange and red roses all along the parking area. It’s a refreshing sight in a fast food setting. Beyond aesthetics, when the drive-thru opens eventually, the main driveway takes you to the far end of the parking lot and then you turn to the right to get in line.

Jose said they will wait a while before opening the drive-thru. They want customers to come inside and experience how the food is made, right in front of you on the grill and the press. In one of the photos above, you’ll see the grill completely covered in steak. It’s also where they grill the vegetables, like the corn, peppers and tomatillos.

When you walk in, a half wall takes you to the counter to begin your order. First you choose if you want a burrito, tacos, nachos, etc. – anything you choose, you’ll end up with a lot of food on your plate. In the next step, pick from several types of rice, beans, meat, veggies and other toppings and sauce.

For drinks, they have tropical punch, horchata and pineapple punch or sodas and tea. They have applied for an alcohol permit for beer and margaritas, so we may see that in July or August.

Don Pepe’s is located on Reynolds Road by Big Red, just south of Prickett Road (map). See previous articles about Don Pepe’s below.

UPDATE JUN 20, 2019

We won’t have to wait much long to sample Don Pepe’s in Bryant. I spoke with the owner of the new Mexican restaurant, who told me the official Grand Opening date is Thursday, June 27th at 11:00 a.m.

You will see occasional customer traffic before then, and some of that will be by invitation. I’ll have a review as soon as I get in there. Stay tuned for that.

UPDATE MAY 15, 2019

Don Pepe’s in Bryant has the grass down, the signs up, and the parking ready. If you’re looking for a job, send your resume to [email protected]. If you’re looking for food, it won’t be much longer. See below for a recent announcement on their social media.

UPDATE APR 26, 2019

You can probably see when you drive by the Don Pepe’s under construction on Reynolds Road that it shouldn’t be long now before they are open. I spoke with the manager at the Conway location, and their goal is to open sometime mid-May and they are currently hiring for the Bryant and Conway locations. It’s always “hurry up and wait” when you’re constructing a new building, since every contractor doesn’t come together at once. They do have signs up and they finally have the parking lot asphalt coming in, as they posted pictures yesterday on their social media. We’ll update as soon as we know more. See the pictures below:

UPDATE JAN 17, 2018

This is a short update to let you know about the progress of this new restaurant coming. But this is also an opportunity for me to type in some extra keywords for people doing an online search, because every day there’s someone asking me “What is the restaurant going in next to Big Red Valero on Reynolds Road in Bryant?” There, that should be all the proper keywords. There’s more info below about Don Pepe’s Gourmet Burritos and Tacos, but I did get information that they will be opening sometime in the Spring. They are shooting for March. We’re ready. Now share this with your friends, so maybe everyone will stop asking me. ??

UPDATE AUG 28, 2018

MySaline told readers in June that there was a Mexican restaurant getting ready to build in Bryant. It’s called Don Pepe’s Gourmet Burritos and Tacos, but they have more on their menu than that.

They currently have a location in Conway that has been open since 2014. They began construction on their Bryant location on August 13th. Plans are to be open in the Spring of 2019. You can expect to see dishes like these pictured from their Conway restaurant.