When Swarthmore upscale wine bar and restaurant Village Vine announced that it would be holding its final dinner service on March 8, many members of the community were shocked and disappointed to hear the news. The day after its closure, however, chef-owner John Hearn posted a video to social media where he, after thanking loyal patrons of Village Vine, introduced owner Christina Luna Ramirez of Luna’s Mexican Grill, the incoming restaurant set to occupy the space.
The restaurant, as described by Ramirez in the video, features authentic Mexican cuisine from Northern Mexico and El Paso, Texas, and draws on Ramirez’s cultural connection to the region. It serves breakfast items from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., and a lunch and dinner menu from 11:30 a.m. until closing. Luna’s recently began accepting OneCard payments, becoming the newest addition to the list since Pastry Pants.
In an interview with The Phoenix, the owner recounted how when she moved to Delaware County from El Paso about a year and a half ago, she was “missing [her] food from Texas and the way [her] mom cooked” and was “constantly looking for a restaurant that had the flavor that [she] wanted.” Not having much luck, she decided to start cooking the familiar foods herself at home. Friends and family were impressed by her skill and encouraged her to open a food truck, which she named Desayunos Eatery.
Eventually, demand for Desayunos grew to the point where Ramirez began considering opening a restaurant. Although opening the food truck had initially been “a huge learning curve” of transitioning from serving tacos in her home kitchen to selling to paying customers, she was ready for her next challenge. With degrees in business administration, library information sciences, and administrative leadership, Ramirez said that the real obstacle for this next step was not a lack of business-related experience but rather the specific application of her knowledge to the notoriously cutthroat restaurant industry. “Having your own business, it’s a completely different ballpark,” Ramirez said. She is especially grateful to her daughter who is an accountant and therefore able to manage the financial side of the business, allowing her to focus on the culinary and operational elements.
It is likely due to Ramirez’s drive, background, and system of support that Luna’s was able to open on such short notice. She signed the paperwork to purchase the space on March 10 and was serving customers by March 17, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day. According to Ramirez, the week leading up to the grand opening was a “chaotic moment” that involved gutting the interior and “[changing] everything about it” to transform it into her vision.
When I visited the restaurant on March 31, I encountered a new space with a fresh coat of paint on the walls, colorful but sparingly-placed Mexican-inspired decor, and modern brass accents. A nostalgic detail that some patrons may pick up on is the same eccentric colored-glass chandelier that also hung from the ceiling of Village Vine. The bar area no longer has Village Vine’s signature overhead glass rack but does have a wall-mounted TV, hinting at the possibility of drawing sports fans to the restaurant. In general, the rustic, quirky warmth of Village Vine is now gone and in its place is an atmosphere that has yet to fully come into its own unique style.
The hard work of revamping the space under intense time constraints paid off – Ramirez sold out of three tacos that Monday and was so low in food stock due to unpredicted demand that she had to temporarily close the restaurant for two days to regroup. Even with the success of opening day, Ramirez was glad that period was over: “I don’t want to relive those days. It was just a huge roller coaster that just would not stop.”
The conversation then turned to the menu itself. When asked how she decides on menu items, Ramirez referred back to her food truck days. Tacos were the big sellers at Desayunos, so she felt that it was important “to keep that same staple on from transitioning from the food truck” to reassure its loyal customers that the “same product was still available, [but now] in the restaurant. With more space in a full kitchen, she could also expand her offerings and “play around more with the menu.”
Ramirez took a trip back to El Paso in December, when the restaurant was still just an idea, and researched what the most common dishes at Mexican restaurants in the area were. Tacos were a top item, confirming her decision to continue to incorporate them in her menu, as well as staples like enchiladas, steak tampiqueñas, and fajitas. Ramirez is focused on authenticity, stating that “these are the things that you find on a Mexican menu where I come from, and that’s what I want to bring to this community.”
She elaborated on the regional specificity of the restaurant’s cuisine, highlighting key differences from styles such as Tex-Mex. For example, she always uses corn tortillas in her cooking, never flour. The same goes for jalapenos, which are often substituted with regular peppers in Tex-Mex dishes. Some items on her menu were apparently quite unfamiliar to new customers, such as the borracho beans which come as a side in taco orders. A Swarthmore student in my dinner company attested to being taken aback by the unusual contents of the borracho beans, which is a bean soup simmered in a beer broth with hot dog, chorizo, bacon, and ham: “I was surprised to find hot dog pieces in a soup, but then Christina came over to our table and explained that it was a dish she grew up eating. It’s definitely not something I typically see on menus at Mexican restaurants, but I’m glad I tried it.” Unfortunately, customers who want to try the side are out of luck for now as Ramirez is replacing it with refried beans in order to determine which is more popular.
The tacos on the menu, before Ramirez changed it on Tuesday, April 1, included pork or steak street tacos, quesa-birria tacos, fish tacos, tacos dorados (fried ground beef mixed with potatoes), and tinga tacos. Each option came in an assortment of three with a side of the borracho beans and ranged from $16 to $17. Condiments and toppings varied by taco; for instance, the pork street tacos were served with a light sprinkling of diced white onion, generously covered in cilantro, and accompanied with a lime and tomatillo salsa. The grilled tilapia tacos were more reminiscent of those from the northwestern coastal region of Mexico and were topped with mildly pickled red onions, a few shreds of red cabbage, sriracha fish sauce, and cotija cheese.
The new menu has more appetizers, breakfast options, and a kid’s taco, but Ramirez has yet to add larger entrees like the enchiladas and steak tampiqueñas. She said, “I don’t want to just bore everybody” by solely relying on the reliable popularity of the tacos, though introducing more complex dishes is expected to be a longer process. In general, Ramirez will “play [it] by ear and see how well [new dishes] serve.”
Regarding Luna’s relationship with the college and community, Ramirez says she has already had many positive experiences with students, faculty, and families. After Anthony Condo, director of campus services, came by to set up OneCard payments for the restaurant, students immediately began taking advantage of the arrangement and are a regular cohort, especially at breakfast and lunch. Ramirez is also hoping to provide takeout and catering services to faculty and groups on campus, envisioning a scenario where Luna’s becomes the go-to option for takeout orders. According to Ramirez, the restaurant is already attracting families on college tours, and as a result, bringing in customers from outside of the Philadelphia area.
Ramirez is generally pleased with how the restaurant is shaping up and the reception from the community; however, she is still hoping to improve some aspects of the business to further develop its durability. First on the list is marketing, which is particularly important in the early stages of the restaurant’s existence. Ramirez must “make sure that people are aware of where [she’s] at” and capture the existing customer base from the food truck. Second is controlling costs and making sure that the business meets its margins. Given the unique business challenges of managing food inventory, Ramirez is focused on staying financially afloat. She hopes that outreach to the community, such as an upcoming street food event on Park Avenue on April 6, will continue the steady stream of demand and cement Luna’s position in Swarthmore.
Ramirez’s passion for providing food from her own hometown and life has guided the opening success of Luna’s thus far, and she hopes to keep introducing customers to the dishes that bring her nostalgia and joy. “I’ve always loved cooking … just pushing it out, putting smiles on people’s faces over food.”
Not really surprised that Village Vine is going out of business. Extremely overpriced for small portions and mediocre food. New place seem pretty good, definitely will check it out.