A New Restaurant for Urbana Pike
2007 May 16
The building that housed the former Xhale nightclub on Urbana Pike is finally going to be renovated and turned into a Mexican Restaurant. From the FNP:
The building that formerly housed Xhale nightclub on Urbana Pike will become a Mexican restaurant.
The owners of Cacique Restaurant and Mexicali Cantina in Frederick are planning a $750,000 renovation.
This is great news! I drive by that abandoned building everyday and it’s become even more of an eyesore the past couple years.
The restaurateurs say the restaurant will feature a display kitchen and main dining room surrounded by step-up areas with booths.
No target date is set for opening as the owners are still working through the county’s permits and inspections process.
That is great news. I pass that building to and from work every day. Its bad enough that they have had dead space there for so long, but the fact that it has been obnoxiously colored dead space is even worse. I hope exterior painting is one of the first things on that list.
Also excited that it is Cacique that is taking over the place, as they have become one of my favorite mexican restaurants since LaPaz changed locations.
I just remembered that the owners of Mexicali Cantina and Cacique always have a full page ad in Frederick Magazine. I looked it up and they also own a restaurant in Rockville called El Mariachi and one in Rehoboth Beach called Mariachi. I’ve never been to either of those but I’m very excited to have a quality Mexican restaurant on this side of town.
Very good news!
For real…that building is just so tacky! Will they use that structure? I would think they would just tear it down and start from scratch. OK, now what about the massage place??? Is that for real? I’m a transplant to Fredrock….and it has driven me crazy. I get all my answers here!!
Hopefully $750,000 will make that structure much more appealing!
Mindy, I’m not sure what massage place you are talking about. If it’s Snakeman’s, I think they just do tattoos and piercings.
I’m glad to hear it. I never knew what Xhale was, except it was an incredible eyesore. Cacique is one of our favorites, so I’m sure the new place will be just as good.
Mindy, if you are talking about the “silver lining spa”…I have heard from a number of different people that it is a little more than just a massage place. Though I can’t confirm it, I always found the idea kinda funny. Again though, it could just be rumors.
That’s what I suspected…and yes I mean the “silver lining spa”. Seems as if a lot of cars park around back!!! Very odd….
This is great news. The food at Mexicali Cantina and Cacique is always good so I expect the same will be true for this new venture. There are too many chain restaurants over that way, a new local place will be a nice addition and making that eye sore go away will be a bonus.
Hi,
I have a suggestion for some one with capital. Frederick is severely lacking in quality breakfast and brunch places. Cracker Barrel, IHOP, and Denny’s are always too busy and can not meet the needs of the community especially on the north side of town. Plus, these chains can not even compare to Le Peep.
This is fantastic news. I am sure it will be renovated and made into something quite appealing.
A breakfast joint would be a great idea! too bad I am not one with capital
Amen to the renovating the eyesore…but not sure about another mexican restaurant, steak house, or pasta place…I think we have an abundance of them. I don’t know what were missing but I am sure there’s something else…
I may be alone…but I would love one of those “Soup/Salad/Pizza…etc.” Buffets. Like a Souplantation…They were very nice, good quality food.
I hope they have a patio for outdoor dining in the summer.
Mindy, there used to be something like that called Sunflowers I’m guessing around 10 years ago. It was in the shopping center where the Common Market is now, in the spot where El Paso is. They weren’t there long and I’m not sure why they closed.
Nothing against El Paso, by the way, but they aren’t in the same league as Cacique and Mexicali Cantina so a new Mexican restaurant should do well with only El Paso for competition here on the south side. I’m just glad it’s not a Chichi’s type chain going in there!
I loved Sunflowers!
Darrell, with the smoking ban coming in February…I would not be suprised to see an outdoor patio included in the renovations.
Liz,
Wow, what a bummer it closed. Maybe a new place would give it a try. And I totally agree about El Paso…my family LOVES that place, can’t figure out why. I however, do NOT. I can’t wait to try this new place and a patio would ROCK!
I’m with you, Rudy. We need a breakfast/brunch place that’s original, that goes above-and-beyond Cracker Barrel and such. They’d do a fantastic business here.
How about a Cheesecake Factory….I wouldn’t mind that a Bit!!
)
Shroomy55,
I read in the FredMag like last year we ARE getting a Cheesecake Factory. And to quote the magazine it’s supposed to be “a stones throw from FSK Mall” I thought it might be in that empty space across from Panera that says “Opening Spring 2007″ But I’m a little skeptical that they are going to make that deadline!!
Renovation of that space is long overdue. It hasn’t been a happening spot since the Rabbit’s Foot closed.
I hope they keep the big, tacky statues and make them into Mayan priests!
Oooh, the Rabbit’s Foot. That brings back memories. I never went there, but I used to hear all about “Ladies Night”. That was back in the day when the motel behind the old truck stop at the I70/Rte355 intersection had rooms available by the hour…
*That* was when the name “Fredneck” really fit
Shroomy55, I’m with you. Cheesecake Factory is fantastic and would be great for Frederick. Only problem is they got rid of the best meal they had on their menu (Honey Maple Pork Tenderloin.) Since then, I just haven’t enjoyed it as much.
As for the Rabbits Foot, I think that may’ve been where my parents met. Can’t remember, but I know my dad used to bartend there WAY back in the day (sorry to make any of you feel old.)
Mindy–is Souplantation like Sweet Tomatoes? That would be great. So would Cheesecake Factory. Now I’m getting hungry . . .
Jim, we went to a Sweet Tomatoes in Phoenix. Nice place, and i can’t think of a similar one in this area!
Patio dining on Rt. 355? Who wants to breathe all that dust from the nearby cement plant? There is nothing at all appealing about Rt. 355 in the old X2 area. Nothing. It is a dump.
I love the food at El Paso. I have a Hispanic friend and it is the only mexican restaurant he will go to here. He is quite picky, but loves their food.
I would also love to see a pizza/salad buffet place. I went to one up in York, PA. I think it was called Stevie B’s? Very tasty and cheap too. A good place to feed a group of kids because they had an arcade in the back. The only pizza joint for kids in this town is Chuck E. Cheese and their pizza stinks.
Jim Eaton,
I just got on the website and YES they are the same. But no sign of them coming this way..:( And it reminded me of the Blueberry Muffins they had! mmmmm
Mindy–too bad they’re not coming. They’d do some good business here, I think.
Here’s a more detailed article about the plans for the new restaurant:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/business/display.htm?StoryID=60392
I just went to a great breakfast place in Silver Spring — Eggspectation. It’s not LePeep but why can’t we get something like that in Frederick? I really hope these pleas inspire some one.
Also, another thing would be a good New York style deli like CrabApples but actually open in the evenings.
Rudy–I understand that a place in Germantown called Royal Bagel Bakery & New York Deli is coming to Frederick. It’s on the corner of Germantown & Middlebrook Rd. and has fantastic New York-style sandwiches.
Is it true about Royal Bagel Bakery & New York Deli coming to Frederick. They have the best Doughnuts and baked goods.
The girl who cuts my wife’s hair–her family owns Royal Bagel Bakery & New York Deli in G-town–she says they’re opening a 2nd store in Frederick . . . as soon as they can find a space.
Does anyone have any updates on the new Mexican restaurant going into the old Xhale building?
By the way, I love El Paso too and am a very frequent customer of theirs.
I for one miss the old club xhale. great place to meet people, hang out, dance, and listen to music. good adult fun. what they propose is another eating place to compete with a hundred other eating places in the area. more places to feed your fat faces. Perhaps thats why i don’t visit frederick anymore.
@shrek were glad you don’t visit frederick anymore either.
It looks like they are finally starting to work on the building. The south side of the building has either been painted over or the old paint blasted off and I’ve seen some work trucks there over the past couple weeks.
There’s now a “Now Hiring” sign hanging on the building and more construction being done.
And now there is a temporary sign out front with the name on it. It’s going to be called “Mariachi”.
Is nobody else sick and tired of mexican food in this town? We have cacique, caballo viejo, la paz, all the taco vans in hillcrest, the place by 40 and 40A… Need I say more? We almost have as many mexican places as chinese. Let’s try something different.
Yes, there is plenty of Mexican/Tex Mex. But there isn’t an abundance of GOOD Mexican, unfortunately.
I’d like to see another seafood restaurant in downtown Frederick. Maybe a bit upscale, along the lines of O’Donnell’s.
@FrederickFan, good call. A nice seafood place would be a great addition. I love May’s and Libertytown and others places like them, but a seafood place is hard to come by.
May’s has never impressed me as a first-rate seafood restaurant. Good burgers, yes. But the seafood doesn’t strike me as exceptional.
Don’t get me started on Jug Bridge.
A seafood restaurant would be nice. I also would like to see an original, excellent breakfast restaurant.
I’ll second that breakfast idea, Jim. I finally gave up and started going back to Waffle House.
with 3 new shopping centers coming to Frederick, one on Route 355, one on Route 85, and one on Route 26, looks like we might just get some better restaurnts finally. Keeping fingers crossed that Cheesecake Factory, Fuddruckers, Chili’s and PF Changs are among those. Please no Red Robin, their food just sucks.
Jim and Tam,
Re a place for breakfast in Frederick: Have you tried Double T Diner ? Apart from breakfast, they have one of the most extensive menus I’ve come across, with a wide variety of offerings.
Double T has good food all around. The one place my wife and I started going to for breakfast (and no, we’re not senior citizens) is Perkins, across from Golden Corral. Breakfast all day, and it’s pretty good.
Aside from the places on the bay or at the beach, May’s has the best steamed crabs. Not sure about anything else there, but the crabs are usually heavy and full of sweet crab meat.
The April issue of Frederick magazine claims that the Mariachi is now open on Urbana Pike, but I can tell you it definitely isn’t yet. They have made quite a bit of progress on it in the past month but they are still working on it. It’s looking much better!
Thanks for the suggestion, Fred’Fan, but I’ve never been thrilled with Double T. The few times I’ve been there, either the food hasn’t impressed me or there’s just plain been way too much of it.
The best breakfast I’ve found yet, along with the best tea offerings, is out in Shepherdstown. Definitely worth the drive, but it’d be nice to have something in Frederick, too, just for the sake of variety.
What happened to the Mexican buffet restaurant that just opened on the mile? I was away for a few days, drove by and it is completely empty – furniture everything is gone and sign is down.
every body wants a good breakfast restaurant i know of 2 places that struggled for over a year for buisness because nobody wants real food for the price it costs they want bag breakfast at cracker barrel dump it out and cook it for cheap
mays is the only place for seafood voted best seafood by the people of frederick in the frederick magazine the last three years i bet nobody sells more crabs then they do in the frederick area always packed. great service,casual atmosphere,nicely priced for the quality of the food . and awsome lunch also