GONE WITH THE WIND

Newly Renovated Restaurant El Mandilón Closes, Just Weeks After Its Debut

The Starlite Room transformed into El Mandilón six weeks ago. Now owner Tyler Yurckonis has pulled the plug.

By Giulia Heyward June 13, 2019

El Mandilón was a "craft Mexican" restaurant 

Downtown restaurant El Mandilón has closed its doors. The decision from owner Tyler Yurckonis comes six weeks after the restaurant debuted as The Starlite Room's replacement.

Located at the corner of Cocoanut Ave and 10th St., the space was home to longtime local favorite Broadway Bar from 1925 until 2014, when Yurckonis purchased the restaurant. He reopened it as The Starlite Room, with Elevate, a bar that regularly hosted drag shows and performances, on the second floor.

Then, this past March, Yurckonis announced that The Starlite Room would close and reopen—again—as a new restaurant. He teased that the transformation would be featured on an episode of a new Food Network show, Restaurant Flip, with celebrity chef Joey Maggiore. The following month, Yurckonis unveiled El Mandilón, a "craft Mexican" restaurant.

In the wake of the decision to close, there's also no official announcement on when—or if—Restaurant Flip will air. Both the Facebook and Instagram accounts for El Mandilón have been deleted. A call to the restaurant still leads to a voicemail about The Starlite Room, and a promise that if you leave a message, staff will get back to you soon.

Filed under
Share
Show Comments