Mexican restaurant slated to open this week

Mexican restaurant La Paloma is scheduled to open tomorrow at the former home of a Pizza Inn eatery.

Jesus Arizaga, an employee of La Paloma speaking on behalf of General Manager Carmen Avalos, said the 1425 W. Battlefield Road restaurant will begin operations after a soft launch this week.

It’s the second La Paloma in Springfield, following the launch five years ago at 3014 E. Sunshine St.

“It’s very, very popular,” Arizaga said of the Sunshine Street restaurant. “That’s why they wanted to open far from the other one.”

Arizaga declined to name the new restaurant’s owner, noting it’s a family member of the original eatery’s Arkansas operator. The Missouri secretary of state filing for the West Battlefield restaurant lists Gabriel Fernandez, of Mountain Home, Arkansas, as the organizer.

Arizaga said La Paloma is designed as a fine-dining Mexican restaurant. Its menu includes seafood and steak dishes, as well as burritos, enchiladas and specials such as lamb chops, according to the company’s Facebook page.

La Paloma signage on West Battlefield was installed last summer. Arizaga said permitting issues with the city contributed to the opening delay.

Prior to La Paloma’s entrance, the building was briefly home to Zapata Tequila Bar and Grill, which closed after less than a year in business.

A Pizza Inn restaurant that operated in the West Battlefield building shuttered in 2017, according to past reporting.