Anyone familiar with Mexican food in Central Otago will have heard of Amigos restaurant, and now the owners are ready to bring their food south to Invercargill as well.

James and Syreeta Emanuel, along with business partners Warren and Nicki Bradley opened Amigos Mexican Grill in Wanaka way back in 1995, and it was soo successful they established another in Cromwell in 2016, followed by Alexandra in 2019.

They also own a cocktail bar Bargarita in the Cromwell Mall, opposite their Mexican restaurant.

James said they had been looking at a number of sites in Invercargill before lockdown, and most recently decided on one in Wachner Place, next to the i-Site. (previously Subway)

“We were set on consolidating all the businesses over the past 18 months and getting more consistent with our branding. We had a business plan five years ago and wanted to look at where to go after Central.

“Invercargill made sense because there isn’t a Mexican restaurant here, so we’re expecting to be quite busy when we open.”

Some of their existing staff were relocating to the deep South so they would already have hands-on experience with how the restaurant operated.

Gore could be next on their list so watch this space.

James has been so impressed with the people he’s been working with in Invercargill to get his restaurant open – from the local tradespeople to the council, and said everyone has been “bending over backwards” to make it happen.

What’s On Invers promotions manager Robbie Fleck said he had run some popular giveaways but the Amigos opening giveaway blew everyone’s expectations, with the post getting over 2.7K comments/entries.

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