A downtown Ellsworth building where a restaurant closed down three months ago after running into financial problems is being offered for rent, indicating that the chain Mexican eatery that had been there is now permanently shuttered.
The property at 191 Main St., which has housed two Mexican restaurants over the decades — including most recently a location of Margaritas — has been closed since May due to what state officials have described as “noncompliance” with Maine tax laws. In July, the city threatened to cut off water to the shuttered property unless it paid its overdue water bill.
Statewide Property Management is trying to find a new tenant for the space on behalf of the property owner, a company called Ellsworth Investments LLC based in Racine, Wisconsin.
“Now available for lease, it’s ready for your vision — whether that’s a restaurant revival or a bold new business concept,” the listing says.
The restaurant was one of five Margaritas restaurants in Maine when it closed down. The restaurant chain has 22 franchised locations in the Northeast, including in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Prior to operating as Margaritas, the space was home under previous owners to The Mex restaurant for 30 years, from 1979 to 2019.
Before the Ellsworth Margaritas closed, the Maine Department of Labor had placed several liens totaling nearly $25,000 on the restaurant, but as of Monday those liens appear to have been paid off, according to records on file at the Hancock County Registry of Deeds.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Labor said in June that the liens were tied to unemployment insurance tax debt, but declined to provide additional details due to confidentiality.
A lien placed by the city on the property for more than $1,300 in overdue water fees and interest was still listed in the county’s deeds records on Monday.
Russell Torrey, an agent for the property management company, said that he believes the overdue water bills and the state tax issue have been paid.
“I think that’s all been taken care of,” he said.