The MexiCali restaurant recently closed its doors for the second time this year due to staffing problems that have plagued the restaurant since it opened last September.
"Everybody that was working decided to leave for various reasons," owner Richard Frattura said, describing most of the reasons as personal.
The eatery located at 40th and Sansom streets had closed shortly after its opening last year due to insufficient staffing. Frattura had said that his staff then was ill-equipped to serve the hordes of customers that swarmed the shop.
"It's sad because I used to go there for dinner, but foodwise I prefer the food at the trucks anyway," Wharton junior Rohan Tibrawalla said.
The restaurant will not reopen before the end of the semester.
Frattura said that -- with the school year ending soon -- it was not worth it to train new staff.
"If I didn't have these carts, it wouldn't be a problem," said Frattura who, with his wife, staffed the carts and worked at the restaurant.
The MexiCali food trucks are located at 38th and Walnut streets and 37th and Spruce streets.
According to Frattura it was simply a business decision to close the restaurant again.
"That's life," he reasoned, adding that he and his family will be able to better enjoy the summer without the restaurant.
However, Frattura -- who continues to do his cooking for the carts in the restaurant -- plans to reopen the restaurant in the fall.
Next year, however, the restaurant will almost certainly only serve dinner, allowing Frattura and his wife to operate both the carts during the day and the restaurant at night.
"Tell the kids that are bummed out that they can still get burritos at the trucks," he said.
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