Nearly a year after a fire destroyed its building on the east side of Bend, the owners of El Sancho reopened on Monday, June 2 at that location on NE Dekalb Avenue. The fire on June 20, 2024, was ruled accidental. A small line was awaiting the grand reopening at 11am.
Everything is brand new, but the restaurant and menu of Mexican street food will be familiar to fans. Customer favorites are still being served. “The tacos, the pork carnitas tacos, beef barbacoa tacos, those are kind of our top Sancho Bowls,” said co-owner Joel Cordes. “Really popular are plantains, obviously, the margaritas.”
Customers seemed excited to revisit the east side location. One of the first women in line said she ate there twice a week before the fire. El Sancho also has a west side location on NW Galveston Avenue and a food truck at Crux Fermentation Project.
The Galveston location also underwent some changes. The city of Bend is putting in a sidewalk along NW 13th Street, where El Sancho had some outdoor seating. Cordes says they decided to streamline the menu as of Tuesday, June 3, removing what he calls “extra stuff” and sticking with the regular hits like tacos, Sancho Bowls, chips and salsa.
As for the east side spot, Cordes said, “I think we’re just really excited to be back and ready to go again with a fresh new look.”
This article appears in Source Weekly June 5, 2025.
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