El Azteca closes after 10 years in Macon

A year ago, Raul and Maggie Macias considered closing their Mexican restaurant, El Azteca, on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard, but decided to “stick it out” in hopes that the renovated theater at Rivergate Shopping Center might drive up traffic.

“We didn’t want to lay off the employees, so we stuck with it a year,” said Raul Macias.

The restaurant has finally called it quits, closing for good after Saturday night’s shift. It employed 25 people, down from a peak of 40 just a couple of years ago.

The theater, The Edge, closed less than a year after it opened.

“We kept hoping it would take off, but it didn’t,” said Maggie Macias. “We didn’t see anything on the horizon to hope that things are getting better.”

The loss of the Barnes & Nobles Booksellers, which moved from Rivergate to The Shoppes at River Crossing, hurt business, as did the closing of the TaylorMade Grill, the couple said. Other economic factors also figured into the decision to close the restaurant after 10 years.

“Business has dropped off. It’s not enough the cover overhead here,” said Maggie Macias, adding that the restaurant just off Interstate 75 had seen a decline in “travel business.”

“Businesses are really cutting back on their travel expenses,” she said.

The restaurant tried to cut expenses by not filling vacant jobs, but that was not enough. The couple might “go to school or look for a job,” Raul Macias said.

“Work for somebody else,” Maggie Macias said. “We’re not going to reopen right now.”

Maggie Macias fought back tears Monday afternoon at the restaurant, after “crying all morning at the labor office.”

“It’s going to be all right,” her husband said. “We worry more about the employees ... ”

To contact writer Rodney Manley, call 744-4623.

This story was originally published November 29, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "El Azteca closes after 10 years in Macon."