Later this year, a well-liked family-run restaurant in Northampton County that served homemade tacos, enchiladas, and other Mexican specialties will close. The owners hope to continue providing some of their menu items in a different format.
By year's end, General Zapata, a full-service, bring-your-own-beer Mexican restaurant, will close its doors at 15 E. Fourth St. on Bethlehem's South Side.
Co-owner Rick Garcia stated that a precise end date has not yet been decided. In 2009, Garcia and his spouse, Carmen Garcia, launched the eatery in a renovated location that had previously been Southampton Fish & Chips. Over the course of the company's 15 years, the Garcias have built a sizable and devoted following, but Carmen stated that they intend to "slow down" and convert General Zapata's business model to a mobile one. "In the end, it is primarily him and me running the show," Carmen clarified.
"We do have some employees that support us, including students from Lehigh. But we eat lunch and dinner here almost every day. I primarily run the front and serve, while he handles all of the cooking. There is a lot of effort involved, and our goal is to reduce it. Rick went on, "The Bethlehem couple is not retiring by any means." In fact, the Garcias plan to work with a packaging company once the restaurant closes to increase production of General Zapata's hot sauce, which has long been a favorite among patrons.
Customers currently buy the hot sauce in advance in pint, quart, and gallon sizes. They also order the "fire" (hottest) and moderate sauces, when available. According to Rick, the restaurant's most popular dish is the hot sauce, which is prepared from jalapenos. The duo is also thinking of launching a mobile format with a small range of made-to-order products, such as the company's well-known tacos. "We may still serve meals at festivals, but we are done with the brick-and-mortar model," Rick stated.
We have participated in a few events in the past, and we have always performed quite well. We reasoned that using a mobile device might be the best option. Not that we are ruling out operating a food truck. We are certainly considering that as a possibility. According to the Garcias, this past summer was one of General Zapata's slowest on record in terms of commerce. The recent decline in diner visits, along with the demanding workload, rising meat prices, overhead expenditures, and other essential expenses, was "a hint to proceed in a different route," according to Carmen. Rick continued, "Our restaurant sales have always fluctuated, and they would probably pick back up, but we are just kind of sick of the yo-yo effect, not to mention the growing expense of everything."
"Even though our consumers have been incredibly understanding, I can not keep raising the prices of our tacos because of how ridiculously much I spend on ground beef." We decided to just increase the demand for our hot sauce, as we already know it is in high demand. People add it to everything for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and use it as a condiment. Although the particular method of distribution is still being decided, it will most likely be sold online. General Zapata boasts a lively environment with orange walls and shiplap accents, and can accommodate up to thirty diners at four dining booths as well as adjacent tables and chairs.
In addition, there are framed pictures of the Garcias' kids and a picture of Zapata's Place, a well-known Mexican eatery that was open in Bethlehem from 1972 until the late 1990s near the intersection of Easton Avenue and Stefko Boulevard. At the location of the former Zapata's, there is currently a Wendy's restaurant.
Because Rick worked at the former Mexican restaurant for many years and learned the ins and outs of the company from owner Stanley Carreras, General Zapata has a tie to Zapata's Place. Rick worked as a mortgage broker for around ten years after Zapata's Placed closed, all the while harboring dreams of starting his own Mexican eatery.He saw the 2008 financial crisis as a signal to change course and go after his lifelong ambition. Rick stated, "I felt that it was finally time to just go for it after the economic slump."
"I had a great time assisting with the operation of Zapata's, and because we still utilize a lot of the same recipes, we still get customers from back then. I worked in a number of roles there, beginning as a server, and it was a really wonderful place to be employed. I worked as a manager, cook, and bartender as well. General Zapata has been serving a restricted menu consisting of the restaurant's most popular products because the Garcias have been taking up most of the workload themselves in recent months. A selection of tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, and flautas are available for patrons to enjoy. A few more standout items on the menu include the nachos with beef, chicken, or fish, the guacamole and chips, and the sides of Mexican rice, chili, and refried beans.
A tribute to Carmen's Puerto Rican heritage, there are also touches of the island, like tostones, beef pastelillos, and Caribbean rice. According to Rick, the "most popular menu item by far" at General Zapata is its beef tacos. On Tuesdays, there is a dine-in special called "Taco Tuesday" where customers may purchase one taco for $1.50. People go there in droves. Eight-inch flour tortillas loaded with chicken or beef are used to make the tacos, which are then deep-fried to produce a crispy, light exterior. "Our tacos are a fairly specialty product that are pretty unique in this area," Rick remarked. "People travel far and wide to see them."
According to Rick, the recently erected digital parking kiosks in front of the restaurant on East Fourth Street were a "minor influence" in the Garcias' decision to close. According to Rick, the previous parking meters on the street were positioned so that people could easily identify where the spots were. Since there are no longer distinct meters designating particular locations, a lot of people are parking their cars farther apart from one another, which reduces the overall number of slots, according to Rick.
Furthermore, according to Rick, before individuals can even reach their destination, they are required to park their cars, walk to a kiosk, and "click a bunch of buttons" (including the license plate numbers of their cars). These kiosks are spaced sporadically across the street. Rick stated, "We have heard from a lot of guests who say they do not even want to stop here anymore because they do not want to deal with the new kiosks. The parking issue in front of our restaurant has become so inconvenient and screwed up recently." Carmen remarked cynically, "This parking disaster was kind of the icing on the cake of a beautiful summer."
"To be honest, I have only heard complaints from customers—not one who enjoys these new parking kiosks. In addition, I have to go out and assist clients all the time, especially the older ones who are not tech-savvy. The Garcias are appreciative to all the devoted customers they have had over the years and want to meet some of them again in the upcoming weeks for a farewell dinner. Carmen remarked, "We have been here for 15 years, and so many of our clients have become like family."
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