El Arroyo is a Mexican restaurant located on West 5th Street in Austin, Texas. The restaurant is known for its humorous marquee.

El Arroyo
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Restaurant information
Established1975 (1975)
Owner(s)Ellis Winstanley
Paige Winstanley (2012–present)
Previous owner(s)Clay McPhail
Doug English (1985–2012)
Robert Ogden
Mary Ogden (1975–1985)
Food typeMexican
Street address1624 West 5th Street
CityAustin
CountyTravis
StateTexas
Postal/ZIP Code78703
CountryUnited States
Coordinates30°16′30″N 97°45′53″W / 30.274966487752124°N 97.76459909617616°W / 30.274966487752124; -97.76459909617616
Websitewww.elarroyo.com

History

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El Arroyo was established in 1975 by Bob and Mary Ogden, the land owners. Clay McPhail and Doug English, who owned the restaurant for 25 years until 2012,[1] when it was sold to Ellis and Paige Winstanley, who met when Paige got a job at Cain & Able's, a bar owned by Ellis. After "a while" the two started dating and formed a business partnership.

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The restaurant serves typical Mexican cuisine including tacos, fajitas, guacamole and tortilla chips in "gargantuan" portions.[2]

Marquee

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The restaurant is known for its humorous marquee, which attempts to "toe the line" between "uplifting, snarky, and of-the-moment". The messages on the marquee are the result of a group effort among 15 people including the owners and restaurant managers.[2][3] The marquee has inspired its own line of merchandise such as jigsaw puzzles[4] and yard signs.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Gubbins, Teresa. "El Arroyo ex-owner returns to Austin to open 5280 Burger and Taphouse (mile-high burger joint) in Far West neighborhood". Austin.Culturemap.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Leffler, David (May 2, 2021). "Meet the Couple Behind El Arroyo". AustinMonthly.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  3. ^ Swiatacki, Chad. "Low-tech marketing: The minds behind El Arroyo's iconic signs". BizJournals.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Webb, Eric. "Solve the sign: Austin restaurant El Arroyo selling jigsaw puzzles of iconic marquee". Austin360.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  5. ^ KVUE staff (June 22, 2020). "You can buy an El Arroyo (yard) sign of your very own". KVUE.com. Retrieved November 1, 2021.