‘It’s been a great ride’: Don Chilito’s restaurant closing after 50 years. Here’s why

After five decades in downtown Mission, Don Chilito’s Mexican Restaurant is closing.

Barry Cowden, second generation owner, has decided to retire and will close the restaurant on Dec. 11.

Cowden thanked his many loyal customers, employees and suppliers.

“It’s been a great ride, a great 50 years. I have third-generation customers,” he said Tuesday. “It’s kind of bittersweet, but it is what it is.”

Hundreds of fans posted comments on the restaurant’s Facebook page:

“That’s so sad!! We started going there when you opened and we never stopped.”

“We drive an hour to eat there.”

“I am 46 years old, however I have been eating at your establishment for 47 years. How is that so? My mother when pregnant absolutely CRAVED your food and would eat there twice a week. It was her most favorite restaurant ever and has been one of my favorites and my family’s favorites as well. Here is to a GREAT run Don Chilito’s! They say all good things come to an end. I have to say, this end makes me Sad!”

Barry Cowden’s father, Bill, was in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in El Paso, Texas, in the early 1960s, and fell in love with Tex-Mex cuisine. He opened his first Tex-Mex restaurant, the Chili Bowl, in Lawrence in 1969.

Then he opened Don Chilito’s at 7017 Johnson Drive on May 17, 1971. His son purchased the building in late 2009.

Barry Cowden started working at the restaurant as a 13-year-old dishwasher in 1977.

“It’s unique and different than others. We use microwaves to melt cheese but we make everything in-house,” he said. “But it is labor intensive and that doesn’t work anymore.”

Customers can customize their smothered burritos by choosing fillings and toppings. Other menu items include salads, dips, enchiladas, nachos, steak or chicken con queso, pizza tortes, tacos, taco burgers and quesadillas.

Last November, Cowden said he’d close the doors on the restaurant rather than adhere to the county’s mask mandate, which has since been rescinded. At the time, he said just two of his 20 or so employees and probably half of his customers choose to wear masks.

“I did record business when that came out. It has been great and I still stand by it. You can wear one or not,” he said.

The 6,000-square-foot building had recently been listed for $1.5 million. Now Don Gessen of Block Real Estate Services has it listed for $1.275 million.

It seats more than 160 people and has a private event space.

“It might work for a financial, medical or other use. It is zoned industrial, which is unusual,” Gessen said.

The family also had a Don Chilito’s in Ward Parkway Center for a time in the early 1980s.

This story was originally published September 21, 2021 at 2:05 PM.