Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant at 914 Fourth Ave. Huntington is set to reopen its doors to the public Friday. The restaurant has been closed for renovations since Dec. 24, 2014.

Rio Grande Owner, Rudy Magaña, said he had wanted to renovate the restaurant for a long time.

“It was never the right time,” Magaña said. “I decided to go ahead and do it when I started to see more competition come in. Everybody started fixing their places up on Fourth Avenue.”

Changes have been made to the interior of the restaurant in hopes to transform the atmosphere and bring in more business.

Magaña designed the restaurant himself by combining ideas from other Mexican restaurants he has been to.

“The floor is new, new booths, an awning, the bathrooms are redone, the walls are repainted, and new lighting,” Magaña said. “We built a wall to separate the bar from the dining area, and will have a section in the back for big parties.”

Loyal customer Jessica Krolewski, junior nursing major at Marshall University, was nervous that the restaurant had closed its doors for good but said she was glad to see it renovated.

“I go there for their great specials,” Krolewski said. “It’s a plus that their staff is really welcoming.”

There will be new items added to the menu, including new dishes and drinks.

“We’re doing weekly specials, a different dish every week,” said Magaña. “These dishes won’t be on the menu. They’re something that will run for one week, and we’ll change it up the next week. Premium margaritas will be added to the menu, with flavors that we haven’t served before.”

Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant offers student, faculty and staff discounts Wednesdays and Sundays for 50 percent off of full priced lunch and dinner items.

Sofie Wachtmeister can be contacted at [email protected].