It’s fair to say that when a restaurant decides to close up shop, a lot of people can walk around with their hands up in the air saying “Raise your hand if you are not surprised.”
If you pay close enough attention, you see enough red flags and writing on the wall to ultimately confirm what many people suspected for a while.
It would also be fair to say that was not the case with Savannah’s El Coyote, a Tex Mex eatery and Raw Bar at the intersection of Whitaker Street and Victory Drive. El Coyote dropped the news via social media Tuesday night. They are closing their doors. Their last day will be November 14th.
El Coyote had a good, if not short, run and like any new restaurant deserved time to grow and develop a following. They appeared to be doing just that since they opened their doors in 2018 shortly after taking over the space previously occupied by The Florence, Celebrity Chef Hugh Acheson’s Italian concept that closed in June of 2017.
The fly in the ointment? Shortly after Tony Seichrist (Wyld Dock Bar) and Atlanta chef Landon Thompson took over at One West Victory, the entire development was sold. Their new landlord was the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Shortly thereafter we learned that SCAD may have had plans for the restaurant space that sits a courtyard away from student housing. Those plans may or may not have included a Tex Mex spot and raw bar overlooking one of the busiest intersections in the city.
It stands to reason at that point, the sands began to run through the hour glass. Given that there was already a lease in place, It was only a matter of time.
For their part, El Coyote, operated by a local group including Seichrist and Thompson were in it for the long haul. They were both heavily involved in the community and several charities around town. El Coyote had a good following. There are many that will be sad to see it go less than 2 years after it opened.
Not so much the negative Nancys who would like to claim that the location of this restaurant is an issue and nothing could survive there. Some in Savannah like to even refer to the space as ‘cursed.’ Which we find bizarre considering it was an empty warehouse with political signs out front until Summer of 2014.
Two years later Atlantic opened two blocks away. They’ve been gang busters ever since with limited parking and this week celebrate a 3rd anniversary.
Victory North is a brand new concert venue that just opened this year across the street. They don’t have any trouble drawing a crowd.
Less than a mile away, Starland Yard is packing them in for food and drink. Location is not an issue there. Neither is parking.
Can anyone say that if -just as a for example- St Simon’s Southern Soul BBQ was going to open in that space they wouldn’t be full every day? Regardless of location or ‘trouble with parking’? Of course they would. Folks would be parking in the street and walking in there like a zombie apocalypse.
What’s going to go in there? Anyone’s guess right now but if you want to get a final El Coyote fix, you’ve got until November 14th.
“We will miss the neighborhood and its new growth.” says Seichrist, who now welcomes the opportunity now to put more energy into growing and possibly expanding his “Wyld” brand.
“We are thankful for all of the great guests.”
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2 thoughts on “What the El?”
You did a story on a rib place in Hardeevile and I can’t find the place
Would you send me that restaurant name please so I can try it out
This place had okay food, but suffered from a terrible house margarita, essential to success in a drinking town like Savannah. And their name was vile. Coyotes are disreputable and feared folks in Mexican culture. Hoping that the space is snapped up by someone with a better vision and ability to execute. But considering SCAD ownership, maybe we are just looking at the next student cafeteria.