New Mexican Restaurant Plans to Open in Downtown Clawson in 2013

Clawson has become a "foodie's dream." Within a short walk you can find Japanese Sushi, Vietnamese delicacies, Italian favorites, Greek specialties, microbrewery beer and soon—homemade Mexican dishes.

Mojave Cantina, currently in construction at at 48 West 14 Mile next to Pizza Hut, has been in the works since May with a proposed opening this past October. But there was more work than initially thought when owner and general contractor Phil Tsapatoris began the project. He virtually had to strip the building back to its foundation.

"It's moving along slowly, but surely," he said. "There were a lot of updates that this building needed. There were layer upon layer of people not correcting the issues but had just covered them up. We uncovered everything and did everything the right way back to the beginning. It's a complete rehab of the building both inside and out."

The West Bloomfield native has decades of restaurant and construction experience.

"It's going to be Tex-Mex food and live entertainment," he said. "We'll have Mojitos, Margaritas and authentic food. Everything will be fresh and not frozen. We are looking at a February opening,"

And Tsapatoris knows Clawson is a great place to open a business.

"Clawson is a great community and has a lot to offer. The residents are very loyal to the city and its a great opportunity to provide a restaurant for them and develop loyal customers," he said.

This is his first venture in Clawson and it's been first class treatment according to the builder.

"They've been very cooperative and very helpful with anything that we've come across," he said.

When finished the restaurant will have 3,200 square feet with both indoor and outdoor seating with 140 total seating capacity. It will feature several 60-inch TVs and live entertainment as well. The building also includes an insurance company in the rear and six residential apartments upstairs.