Photo by Kat Lucero

El Chucho’s—Cocina Superior, the upcoming restaurant being developed at 3313 11th St., NW, continues to make progress and is expected to open on June 10.

“It’s been a long time coming,” says Gordon Banks, who owns El Chucho’s with restauranteur Jackie Greenbaum. “Finally, we’re getting close.”

Banks also announced that he and his team recently hired Matthew Russell to head the kitchen. Russell was previously the sous chef at Evening Star Cafe in Alexandria; before that, he was the sous chef at Siroc in downtown D.C.

Followers of the restaurant’s Facebook page were first informed that the restaurant will be open some time in May. Washingtonian also reported a possible Cinco de Mayo opening. Delays, however, are common in the restaurant business. But once it’s unveiled, diners can expect a playful twist of every day Mexican fare.

“The way we describe our place is that you have your awesome mom and pop taquerias. Then you have Oyamel and fancier Mexican. We’re trying to hit right in between,” Banks says.

Banks, a former mixologist at Greenbaum’s Silver Spring dining establishments, Jackie’s and Quarry House Tavern, has also been busy designing the drink menu. Some items to expect are homemade sodas, specialty margaritas (with one on tap) and a green bloody mary cocktail.

As Banks and Greenbaum searched for a chef to helm the kitchen, Jackie’s Executive Chef Diana Davila-Boldin became the driving force behind the food menu. She has created a variety of fun dishes inspired by street food from Mexico. Davila-Boldin’s training comes from her parents’ Mexican restaurants in the Chicago area, as well as working under Chef Susana Triling in Oaxaca, Mexico.

El Chucho’s will join a number of other restaurants that is making 11th Street a worthwhile alternative to 14th Street, Columbia Heights’ main drag. Other newcomers to 11th Street will include the Kangaroo Boxing Club and Maple.