The address 7723 N. University is a unique Peoria address because it houses a building that’s been home to local Mexican restaurants since the ’70’s.
It was originally one of Peoria’s first and foremost beloved Mexican eateries, Pepe Taco. It thrived there for decades before closing in 2005.
Then it was transformed into other Mexican restaurants and below I have the timeline of this building that has a rich history of local Peoria Mexican cuisine.
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PEPE TACO
If you grew up in Peoria in the ‘70’s, the odds are you had your first Mexican food experience at Pepe Taco.
Pepe Taco had two locations in Peoria, one on University near Pioneer Park and on Western Avenue in West Peoria.
There’s a Pepe Taco oven mitt.
Pepe Taco closed it’s doors in 2005 and sometime after that it became, Pepe’s Tacos. I don’t have any photos from that era, but it closed after a while and then I believe sometime around 2009 it re-opened as…
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LOS JIMADORES
They decorated the inside nicely and the owners were really nice people.
Here’s a link to a post I did on this place back in 2013.
I was sad when this place closed and the building was once again left vacant.
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CASA AMIGOS
In 2018, the restaurant re-opened under new ownership as Casa Amigos. As you can see, they brightened up the front of the building!
Here’s a link to an MBIP blog post I put up shortly after they opened up.
They shut down in 2020 when the Covid pandemic blew into town and were supposed to re-open, but they never did.
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2023
They put up this closed for remodeling sign in 2023 and in 2024 this legendary building re-opened as…
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Big Juan’s Texas Smokehouse & Baha Beach Club
Big Juan’s Texas Smokehouse & Baha Beach Club opened up a year ago in June of 2024. Here’s a post I did a month after they opened up.
It still has the Big Juan’s signage, but they closed down last winter with this upside down sign saying they’d be up and running later and they never re-opened. Their facecrack page hasn’t been updated since last October. It appears to be closed for good.
I took these photos yesterday and wonder if anything will come in and revive this classic Peoria building. Time will tell.
Adios for now, Amigos! Hope it re-opens soon!
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Related Posts: Meanwhile, Back In Peoria’s Past: The Captain Jinks Show, Hiram Walker Distillery and Jimmy’s Bar.