El Charro Café has kicked off its yearlong centennial celebration of the restaurant and its matriarch and founder Monica Flin with the quiet opening of The Monica.
The sprawling homage to Flin takes up 4,500 square feet on the first floor of the glistening Hexagon building at City Park, 40 E. Congress St., connected to a 2,500-square-foot patio with faux-grass and picnic tables.
The Monica is the cornerstone of the 100th anniversary of the original El Charro, which Flin opened just a few blocks from the new venture in 1922. The flagship restaurant moved a few years later to its current home on North Court Avenue downtown.
Ray Flores, president of Si Charro — El Charro’s parent company — described The Monica as a hybrid restaurant and market that offers packaged spirits and beer alongside grab-and-go meals and snacks, artisan breads baked by three-time James Beard nominee Don Guerra, and full breakfast, lunch and dinner menus that range from quick- fix sandwiches, salads and soups to full-plate entrees that go from the simple — a grilled cheese and soup combo — to the sublime — short rib rústico dressed in a rosemary ancho au jus.
“My goal was to try to get everything done on our menu for between $10 and $20 and no more,” Flores said.
Guerra’s Polin oven anchors the open kitchen, where Executive Chef Danny Perez oversees cooks preparing vanilla bean pancakes and over-easy eggs, alongside so-called Responsible Burgers, The Monica’s reinvention of the popular plant-based Impossible burger. The Responsible is made with 70% hamburger and 30% mushrooms, sandwiched in Guerra’s toasted focaccia bread.
This is Guerra’s second partnership with the Flores family; he also is part of Barrio Charro at 3699 N. Campbell Ave., which opened at the height of the pandemic in September 2020. In addition to the breads, Guerra, who owns Barrio Bread and Barrio Grains, also is making Roman-style pizza featured on The Monica’s stripped down pantry menu that is geared toward customers on a tight schedule.
Sous chef Oscar Hernandez checks the Parmesan potatoes on the serving line at a soft opening for The Monica, 40 E. Congress St.
Monica Flin, owner of El Charro Restaurant, 140 W. Broadway, on July 1, 1968, after closing for business. The restaurant was forced to vacate to make way for downtown redevelopment projects, including La Placita offices, which were demolished for another project in 2020. The business started on Fourth Avenue, moved near the Temple of Music and Art in 1930, then the Broadway location in 1935 and finally to the current location at 311 N. Court in 1968.
Flores said he also is collaborating with a handful of Tucson makers including Tucson Tea and Tucson Toffee, whose products are featured in the market side of the restaurant, and will invite local makers, vendors and community groups to participate in “Tucson Tuesdays” on the second Tuesday of the month, kicking off March 8. Flores envisions “Tucson Tuesdays” as a way to spotlight local businesses and community groups, much like Second Saturdays Downtown did for years before organizers were forced to press pause on the event due to the pandemic and have yet to return.
The Monica also will team up with the University of Arizona’s Community and School Garden Program. On Wednesday, March 9, Moses Thompson who leads the UA program will bring a group of kids to The Monica to begin planting a garden at the restaurant.
“(It’s) one of the coolest things we have going for youth in Tucson,” Flores said of the UA program.
The Monica is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays with brunch served until 3 p.m.; from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; and from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, when the bar remains open until midnight.
Flores said he is in talks with local chefs about future collaborations that could include pop-up restaurants during the monthly Tucson Tuesdays.
Chastity Tom cuts up bread for bread crumbs near the day's offerings of pantry pizzas at a soft opening for The Monica, 40 E. Congress St.
Co-owner Don Guerra talks to customers at the soft opening for The Monica, 40 E. Congress St. Guerra also owns Barrio Bread which is baking the restaurant's breads.
The 2,500-square-foot patio area at The Monica features faux grass and picnic tables.
El Charro Café before construction of the La Placita office complex in the late 1960s. Monica Flin is at right. At left is nephew Steve Flin.
10 Tucson restaurants you went to as kids that are still open
Caruso's Italian Restaurant — 434 N. Fourth Avenue
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Caruso's Italian Restaurant
Caruso's has been slinging Italian cuisine on North Fourth Avenue since the 1930s, but not always in the same spot.
It was originally at 334 N. Fourth Avenue, a block south of its current location, according to the website, but a monsoon flood all but wiped out the building in the 1940s (again, according to its website).
El Charro Café — 311 N. Court Avenue
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El Charro
Launched in 1922, El Charro Café has been a staple of the Tucson restaurant scene for decades.
What started as one small location on North Court Avenue, has blossomed into El Charros across Tucson, in addition to the spinoff concepts, Sir Veza's Taco Garage and Charro Steak.
El Minuto Café — 354 S. Main Avenue
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El Minuto Café has called two locations home since 1934.
Its original location was torn down to make way for Interstate 10.
The Mexican restaurant has been at its current location on South Main Avenue since 1944.
The dining destination is within walking distance from the Tucson Convention Center, making it ideal for pre-concert/hockey game/gem show meals.
Gus Balon's Restaurant — 6027 E. 22nd Street
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Gus Balon's
This popular breakfast and lunch spot has been operating since its namesake, Gus Balon and his wife, Kay, first opened the diner on East 22nd Street in 1965.
Balon died in 2007, but his spirit lives in at the restaurant which has remained in the family. His granddaughter Kelli Phillips runs the joint.
Lil' Abner's Steak House — 8501 N. Silverbell Road
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Lil'Abners Steakhouse
Larry Lewis first opened Lil' Abner's as a bar on Tucson's northwest side in 1947.
The steak house has changed hands several times, but continues to stick to its Southern Arizona, Western roots.
According to its Facebook page:
"Abner’s is an authentic old-time western bar and restaurant filled with memorabilia of southwestern history and has gained worldwide fame for our mesquite broiled T-bone, rib eye, filet, chicken, pork rib and beef rib dinners. Each dinner is served with a salad and all the garlic toast, beans, and salsa desired. For those of you with a sweet tooth try our pecan pie or homemade hot fudge sundaes! "
Mama Louisa's Italian — 2041 S. Craycroft Road
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Mama Louisa's
Located just north of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Mama Louisa's has a long history feeding the Tucson masses.
It first opened its doors in 1956 and has served celebrities and citizens alike.
In 1970, Joe Namath and Ann-Margret stopped through for a birthday party, while filming the movie "C.C. and Company" in Tucson, according to the Star archives.
Mi Nidito — 1813 S. Fourth Avenue
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Mi Nidito (or My Little Nest) has a history going back to 1952, but will forever be known as the restaurant that President Clinton visited in 1999.
It still serves a President's Plate — A bean tostada, birria taco, chile relleno, chicken enchilada and beef tamale — for $15.50.
Pat's Chili Dogs — 1202 W. Niagara Street
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Pat's Drive-In 1202 W. Niagara St.
Opened by Henry "Pat" Patterson in 1961, Famous Pat's Chili Dogs is a classic drive-in-style restaurant and west-side staple in Barrio Hollywood.
It offers a variety of sandwiches and burgers in addition to their classic dogs.
Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse — 6541 E. Tanque Verde Road
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Pinnacle Peak Restaurant
The anchor of Trail Dust Town, Pinnacle Peak opened in 1962, burned down in 1971, and was rebuilt to become a major tourist destination for the city.
The restaurant serves a mean steak, but is just as well known for its treatment of neckties (cut-off ties are hanging from the ceiling throughout the venue).
Saguaro Corners — 3750 S. Old Spanish Trail
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Saguaro Corners Ice House
Saguaro Corners has been based on the east side of Tucson before there was an east side of Tucson.
The restaurant was first opened in 1956 by one Bert Calvert, according to Star archives.
It has changed hands and even closed once or twice, but now serves food, craft beer and live music daily to residents from Tucson to Vail.