BIZ BRIEF: Big moves underway for the Athletic Club and El Jimador
The large, red roof of the Athletic Club and El Jimador off of U.S. 281 is unmistakable driving through town. The popular Mexican restaurant will soon be parting ways from the gym, and setting up shop on the other side of town. Staff photo by Dakota Morrissiey
A popular Mexican restaurant and family-owned gym in Marble Falls have been close neighbors for over nine years, sharing the same cramped parking lot off of U.S. 281, but that will soon change.
Fermin Ortiz, owner of the large building at 2312 U.S. 281 that houses El Jimador and the Athletic Club, announced on Tuesday, Feb. 17, that the Mexican restaurant would soon be moving to a new location in Marble Falls and that the gym would be expanding into the restaurant space.
“It’s really a godsend,” Ortiz told DailyTrib. “It’s one of the few opportunities in business where it is a win-win for both entities. We’re both family-owned, we’re both locally owned, and to see us both prospering to the point where we need to both expand and improve is just a blessing.”
According to Ortiz, who operates the Athletic Club, he helped El Jimador owners Marcos Lopez and Lucy Barajas find a new location in town as both businesses had become cramped, sharing the same space and parking lot. Ortiz has owned the building since 1996 and El Jimador has operated out of the structure for nearly a decade.
El Jimador is moving into the old Margarita’s Bar & Grill building at 1205 RR 1431. According to Lopez, they hope to make the full transition by mid-April and hold an official grand opening. There will likely be little impact to the normal operating hours of the restaurant as the transition takes place.
Ortiz said that the Athletic Club will absorb the 4,000 square-foot space of the restaurant and use it to add more treadmills, free weights, and other exercise equipment.
“This new move will be smooth and cooperatively done with lots of love and supportive anticipation from both parties,” Ortiz said.