La Hacienda Calavera to replace former Lalo’s Mexican Restaurant in Schaumburg by Easter

La Hacienda Calavera, the second location of a 3-year-old Cicero restaurant, will open by Easter on the former site of Lalo’s Mexican Restaurant in Schaumburg.

Applying for a liquor license before the Schaumburg village board this week, co-owners Marco Rodriguez and Lucy Valdez explained their expansion plans for the building at 425 S. Roselle Road.

“We’re doing a new take on Mexican cuisine,” Rodriguez said. “So it’ll be like a Mexican restaurant with a bar area that’s more of a low, speakeasy vibe that’s going on with a lot of the West Loop restaurants and bars in the city.”

The owners still are putting the final touches on the building, including its sign, but the weather is hoped to be good enough by April 20 for customers to be able to take advantage of the outdoor patio from the start.

“It’s a unique take,” Rodriguez said of the restaurant’s style. “I mean it’s not traditional in a sense, but it’s very beautiful. I guarantee that you’ll be blown away with the decor that we’ve chosen.”

Unlike the restaurant it’s replacing, La Hacienda Calavera’s menu will be a blend of traditional Mexican and contemporary American dishes.

“It’s not going to be like Lalo’s,” Rodriguez said. “We’re not going to have enchiladas and things like that, traditional fare, but we’ll still have staples like guacamole and tacos. And we’ll also bring in some vibrant drinks like margaritas and cantaritos and things like that.”

The owners said the restaurant also is planned to host occasional community events, private gatherings and cultural celebrations that align with their mission to provide authentic, enjoyable experiences.

The owners of Lalo’s cited slow business as the reason for closing the Schaumburg location last June, but their other sites in Glenview, Berwyn and Chicago continue to operate.