New Restaurant Concept, Ojos Locos, to Debut in March

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Nothing's more loco than the Bluth's banana stand

As the economy hobbles back to life, restaurants are experimenting with different formulas to attract and retain customers. While the days of $35 entrees may not be entirely over, an increasing number of new restaurant concepts are focusing on lower prices, better values, and microniche marketing to attract and retain customers.

Ojos Locos Sports Cantina, under construction at the southwest corner of I-35 and Northwest Highway, will be a high-energy sports bar whose target market is Hispanic sports fans.  The creators are Jack Gibbons and Randy DeWitt (Twin Peaks, The Ranch at Las Colinas (ne Cadillac Ranch)), Rich Hicks (Mooyah, Tin Star) and Todd East (Mooyah, Boudreaux’s Cajun Kitchen), who think they’ve identified a lucrative, untapped market: Hispanic men who want to hang out at a giant sports bar with a Hispanic feel.

High tech will be center stage: an entire wall of 18 hi def TVs broadcasting World Cup soccer matches, Cowboys football,  ESPN Deportes, and music videos–all in Spanish.

Ojos Locos will serve a wide selection of inexpensive beer and food, and, yes, there will be chicas.

“Nothing will be over ten bucks,” says co-owner Gibbons. (Get your mind out of the gutter.)

Gibbons promises “unbelievable” tacos al pastor, plus slow-cooked brisket barbacoa, wings with nine made-from-scratch sauces, and a mobile food truck out front serving grab-and-go tacos.

The place will be very casual, Gibbons says–though no swimming pool or gas pumps like Fuel City, “but the tacos will rock.”

Ojos Locos, 10230 E. Technology Boulevard, opens March 1.