Popular Juarez Bar Moves To Historic El Paso Building

A once popular live music bar in Juarez is slated to pump new life into a once crumbling, historic El Paso building. Don Quintin, a popular bar franchise in Mexico, once boasted a large following at its Juarez location, with El Pasoans traveling to party at the night spot.

With the violent drug war, many El Pasoans stopped commuting south of the border and Don Quintin Juarez owner Raul Rodriguez said they had to close down. “And that’s when I started looking for a building (in El Paso),” he said.

That building, the old Southern Pacific Freight Depot, has been vacant for more than two decades. William Abraham has owned it since 2004, and he said it took Juarez investors to revitalize the stagnant structure. “El Paso is certainly a more cosmopolitan city because of their presence,” he said.

Don Quintin El Paso is slated to open in late December. Rodriguez said the project has cost him between $700,000 and $800,000.

About two years ago, Juan Uribe Commercial Real Estate, an El Paso business, announced they planned to open a Spaghetti Warehouse eatery and an Argentinian restaurant at the old depot. But according to Uribe and Abraham, the real estate group was unable to secure credit for the project. “They ran into some financial difficulties and I had to release them from the lease,” said Abraham.

Rodriguez said he’ll cater to an El Paso audience, with the majority of the live music in English, instead of Spanish. “You’re going to come, you’re going to like the concept, the building,” he said.

The restaurant/bar needs 60 employees. Interested people can go to the building site to apply.

The old depot was a historic building so Rodriguez had to convince the city of El Paso to change the zoning so he could start construction. That happened in October, and the inside of the building already has a large VIP area, a stage and several booths in the works.

Don Quintin encompasses most of the first level of the building. Abraham and Rodriguez said they’re planning to open a steakhouse in the second level of the old depot by next year. Rodriguez estimated the summer; Abraham hopes it will open by spring. He said it will be called the Franklin Chop House because Franklin Street used to run in front of the old depot, instead of Interstate 10.