DIXON, CA (MPG) - Frances Murillo thought she would get to open her Dixon Mexican Restaurant by the end of the year 2020 but various contractor issues began to surface, then COVID hit and it’s been a very slow climb back to a new date.

“The amount of work to complete is not major, but that is not something the city does. We don’t build projects. We permit them, make sure they meet codes, and inspect them. The work and time it takes to build out a project is dependent on the property owner and the contractors they hire,” explained Raffi Boloyan, Community Development Director back in July 2022 when movement was seen again and the landscaping pruned. Work seemed to be progressing since then for the woman who celebrated 50 years in 2020 with her Murillo’s Mexican cuisine in downtown Vacaville.

“I’m aiming for Cinco de Mayo,” the youthful 78-year-old said at the door of the completely remodeled former IHOP pancake house. “That’s three weeks and I can thank my brother, Martin Santos, for that. He’s done so much,” she enthused. He and his wife, Esther, helped her get through a myriad of building issues, the wrong chairs being delivered, and the purchase of new ones. The tables were not the ones she ordered either, but they will work. That was after the truck that was supposed to deliver them was delayed because of heavy snow in the mountains and was stuck there for days.

The good news is that she is taking applications now.

“The cooks will have to learn my menu, learn to make it properly so that my customers are happy,” Murillo said. She tells her teen workers that this isn’t the perfect job, but it’s the job that will help them get to the place they want to be. “There are ladders,” Frances said. “You have to climb them.” Applications are done via dropping by the restaurant and meeting with Frances herself.

The new Murillo’s will be at 1435 Ary Lane.