Adelina’s Grill gets major boost during ongoing State Street rebuild | News, Sports, Jobs

“It was the busiest day since we opened,” said Adelina’s owner Antonio Palacios. “We were out of food by 7 p.m., 7:30 p.m. There were even a lot of people waiting outside.”

In addition to having enough ingredients on hand for a large number of customers, Palacios was also short on employees. He recently had to lay off people due to the lack of business over the past few months. Luckily, he was able to get a few extra people on Thursday and was trying to find extra hands before opening Friday.

“If people keep coming like this, I’m going to need more help,” Palacios said.

Adelina’s struggles are partly due to the final phase of the State Street reconstruction project, which began in March. Palacios said that after the work began, her business slowed by at least 50 percent.

PHOTO TR BY ROBERT MAHARRY A group of happy women — Megan Lanfier, Janet Fienup, Lisa Naig, Jacki Brown and Genessa Ridout — had lunch at Adelina’s Grill, located at 101 N. Center St., on Thursday afternoon. The Mexican restaurant has seen a surge in business after a wave of social media posts about its possible closure due to ongoing disruptions caused by the State Street reconstruction project.

“Before the work, we were doing well, but not great,” he said. “Now I have trouble paying the bills and the employees. At the end of the month, we are using money from our own pockets. We are about to close the establishment.”

When the project was announced, Palacios had saved up some funds and took the opportunity to build a patio at Adelina’s so his customers could dine outside. Unfortunately, he said that money would have come in handy now to help his restaurant survive during this difficult time.

“I could have used that money to pay bills and keep the business open,” Palacios said. “The last few years have been tough: the tornado, the derecho, insurance not paying for damages, COVID and now this. It’s really tough.”

After the 2018 tornado, Adelina’s closed due to damage. The derecho and the pandemic caused further delays in reopening, but Palacios was finally able to do so in May 2022. However, due to the significant obstacles Adelina’s faced, he is unsure if he will be able to reopen if he is forced to close again.

“I used all the money on the patio,” Palacios said.

Despite the challenges caused by the natural disasters, Palacios was not prepared for the construction. Since March, there have been days when Palacios has had to close Adelina early because there were no customers. Sometimes people would order takeout, but he would lose the money he paid for the freshly prepared food because customers didn’t know how to get to the restaurant.

“Some people think we’re closed or trying to avoid the work,” Palacios said.

He hasn’t addressed the restaurant’s struggles on social media, but said he’s had conversations with some Marshalltown residents about it. That’s how he believes word got out.

Unfortunately, Palacios knows that some Thursday customers may not return, even though diners have expressed enthusiasm for his culinary creations. Adelina’s Grill has 4.6 stars based on 82 Google reviews and 4.3 stars on Yelp with six reviews.

“People love our food,” he said. “They really love our fajitas, quesadillas, enchiladas, chimichangas — they order a lot of them. We cook from scratch, and we prepare and cook fresh every day. People also love our margaritas. Sometimes they order them to go. Everyone really loves them, and we have different flavors like strawberry, mango and blueberry.”

Mayor Joel Greer is a fan of Adelina’s Kitchen. Every time he’s eaten there, the food has always been delicious. He said it’s encouraging to see Marshalltown residents come together to support a local business during this time of need. Greer added that it’s unfortunate that the necessary repairs to State Street are causing inconvenience to business owners and their customers.

“It’s nice to see we’re getting our ‘Friendly Iowa’ back,” he said. “The road repairs are needed and the city and contractor are doing everything they can to get them done as quickly as possible.”

Many challenges

According to Palacios, a city employee informed him of the project before the work began and told him that the work was only expected to last two months.

“It doesn’t look like it’s going to be done anytime soon,” he said.

Public Works Director Heather Thomas said the work has been delayed due to heavy rain. She would like to give a specific date for when the work will be completed, but said that is something she cannot do.

“We have a contract completion date of Aug. 31,” Thomas said. “It’s been a rainy year. An extension was requested, and the city didn’t agree. There are multiple crews out there doing as much work as possible. I’m hoping to have all the road work completed by Aug. 31.”

Given that things change and unexpected weather conditions arise, she said it is reasonable to infer that the sidewalk and landscaping work will not be completed by the scheduled completion date.

Since the project began in March, Thomas said the team has also encountered many challenges, such as old infrastructure like water pipes.

“They handled what they found appropriately,” she said.

Thomas was aware of Adelina’s challenges and urged people to support the restaurant in a social media post on the city’s page. She said they can access the restaurant by taking a short one-block detour.

“We’re asking the public to support all the businesses that have been impacted,” Thomas said. “They all have access to the internet. I hope they’ll go out of their way to support the businesses.”

INFORMATION ABOUT ADELINA’S GRILL:

In addition to indoor seating and dining, Adelina’s Grill also offers takeout and delivery. The menu can be viewed on the website.

Address:101 N. Center Street.

Phone: 641-752-2997

Business hours: From 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday to Thursday and Sunday; from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday to Saturday

Website: adelinasgrilliowa.com

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.