What does Christ Orchard & El Mexicano restaurant have in common?
They’re both wonderful places run by the nicest people you’d ever want to meet, and neither accepts credit cards.
I ran into this issue at Christ Orchard last year when we did our annual pumpkin patch picking excursion. They do accept personal checks, but I didn’t have any on me. The lady behind the counter didn’t ask for me to leave our pumpkins behind, she said with a smile “It’s ok, just mail us a check.”
I decided to finally pick up some food from El Mexicano last night and as they were cooking my order I pulled out a credit card for payment. Nope. Not accepted. I offered a personal check, but they declined that also. So did they throw my food in the trash and me out the door? Naw – they said “just pay us tomorrow,” and handed me my food.
Treat the customer right and with respect. That’s how loyalty is gained. We go to Christ orchard at least once a year and I’ll be picking up lunch at El Mexicano on Saturday when I go back to pay them for Thursday’s meal.
The food is quite excellent, if you’re wondering.
September 18th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I’ve been singing the praised of El Mexicano for years.
1520 NE Jefferson Ave, Peoria, IL – (309) 636-8858
Located at the corner of Jefferson and Mary — in the WHS/Longfellow school neighborhood.
September 19th, 2009 at 4:21 am
Wife just came back from Christ Orchard this week. She always says “they are so nice out there”.
I’m a big fan of El Mexicano also. Delicious burritos.
September 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
El Mexicano is awesome for REAL mexican food. Also try La Familia Restaurant on Wisconsin. Also AWESOME real mexican food there.
September 20th, 2009 at 12:19 am
Love both places. A little story:
My wife always gets our apples at Christ Orchard. But the other day, her mother gave her some apples from Tanners. They were honey crisp apples, the same kind my wife gets from Christ. When she compared the two, the Christ apples were twice as big as the ones from Tanners! Not only that, but the Christ apples cost half as much. Moral of the story: Go to Christ Orchard.
Besides the authentic Mexican food, my favorite thing at El Mexicano: Coke in 16 oz. glass bottles sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS. Mmm-mmm!
September 21st, 2009 at 11:48 pm
I’ve had great Mexican food in Leadville, Colorado. In New Mexico and Arizona. Haven’t been to Mexico proper yet, but would love to try that some day.
I’ve been to El Mexicano, and believe me, it is no Leadville, New Mexcio, or Arizona. It’s rather bland food, and I was disappointed. I still hold out hope for an actually GREAT Mexican restaurant to arrive one day in Peoria.