Highland Park Mexican restaurant ‘tried everything’ but will close in August

Ever since he was 20, Jose Rangel dreamed of opening his own restaurant. 

He worked at more than 15 different establishments over the years, saving money and perfecting recipes, before he finally opened Blue Margarita’s Mexican Restaurant in downtown Highland Park in 2024.

But, he said, because of rising operational costs, a lack of adequate foot traffic, and an abundance of other nearby restaurants, Rangel will close Blue Margarita’s in August.

“I think our chapter is done here,” Rangel, 41, said. “We gave it everything that we could give it. We have given it all for our people, and we just fell short, I guess.”

Rangel opened Blue Margarita’s on Jan. 29, 2024. He drew from his former hometown — Bluespring, Missouri — to land on the name.

After saving concertedly for five years, he set out to support his family by running a family-friendly restaurant with an affordable, wide-ranging menu in Highland Park.

Inside the restaurant’s 100-person dining room, mounted lights shine blue accents onto walls adorned with decorative butterflies. Rows of multi-colored flags hang from the ceiling and a long wooden counter holds a fully stocked bar. 

Yet Rangel said it was difficult to keep the restaurant profitable from the moment it opened. 

He recalled two other restaurants opening in Highland Park just weeks before Blue Margarita’s launched, increasing the number of other local Mexican restaurants to four. The downtown area also has plenty of other legacy establishments and nearby Highwood is known for its many eateries. 

Blue Margarita’s came to attract a good number of regular customers, Rangel said. But as inflation remained high, power bills rose and the Illinois minimum-wage hit $15 this year, the amount of foot traffic that came in was just not enough to keep up with the costs of staying open. 

Rangel also said he thinks there may now be too many restaurants and suggested the City should rethink how it distributes permits.

“There’s just not enough people for everybody; there’s just not,” he said.

Other Highland Park restaurants that closed this year include Cansino’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, 496 Old Elm Road, and Lefty’s Pizza Kitchen, 600 Central Ave.

To try to become profitable, Rangel said he tried offering happy hours and meal specials, like where kids eat free, but to no long-term avail.

He said shutting down will require laying off his nine employees. 

Despite all the challenges, Rangel said it felt great to accomplish owning his own business after coming from a “humble family.” The restaurant received perfect scores from health inspections and boasted good reviews online (4.6 stars on Google, 4.2 on Yelp — both out of 5). He loved taking care of customers and talking to people from all walks of life.

Earlier this year, a few regular customers on their anniversary gave flowers to Rangel, he recalled. 

“We’ll be missing this place for sure,” Rangel said. “We met a lot of nice people. We cooked fresh food every day. I wanted to cook the best food in town. I wanted to give a full Mexican experience to the people here. It takes a very long time to get the skills to be able to cook; it’s a long process.”

After closing, Rangel said he’ll be reviewing his options but he’d like to reopen Blue Margarita’s again somewhere — possibly somewhere closer to home in Schaumburg. 

“We’re pretty sad about it but what could we possibly do? We tried everything” Rangel said. “I think it’s just time to move on, start over.”

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