Margarita’s Mexican Grill is a Mexican restaurant on Fourth Avenue that took the place of the old restaurant Chili Willi’s on October 18, 2013.

Margarita’s is an extension off of “La Roca,” in Cross Lanes and “Campestre,” in Princeton and Beckley.

Alberto Torres, owner of Margarita’s, wanted to bring good Mexican cuisine to Huntington.

“When we had an opportunity to take the building, we did,” said waiter Victor Ramirez.

Ramirez has worked at both Margarita’s and La Roca from the beginning, and is from Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.

“When I was 17, one of my friends wanted to come to America. I came with him, I wanted to see what it was like,” Ramirez said. “I only miss Mexico on big holidays that I would celebrate with my friends. Other than that, I love America.”

Victor Ramirez has been with the restaurant chain since the beginning.

“I didn’t really want to come to Huntington to work,” Ramirez said. “But, now that I’m here, I love it. The people are nice, and I love the restaurant.”

Another worker, Oscar Gallardo from El Puerto, Jalisco, Mexico, has not been in America for a year yet, and just moved to Huntington a little under a month ago from Richmond, Virginia.

“I came to work here because I was good friends with the owner back in Mexico,” Gallardo said. “I had the opportunity to come to Huntington for a bigger job.”

Ramirez said the restaurant’s busiest nights are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and the bar is always packed on those nights.

“Of course people come here for margaritas,” Ramirez said. “It’s definitely our most popular drink. We have our Azul margarita, along with mango, strawberry and lime and a lot of people also order Dos Equis beer with their meals.”

The bar also has a variety of other premium liquors and top-shelf tequilas to choose from.

Ramirez said his favorite item on the menu is Camarones Chipotle, a grilled shrimp with a special chipotle sauce, but the most popular item on the menu is the fish tacos. The menu has a wide variety of options including seafood, chicken, steak, and many desserts.

“We’ve been very successful so far,” Ramirez said. “We run a good restaurant because we’re friendly and we provide good service.”

Margarita’s is located at 1314 4th Ave., Huntington.

Karima Neghmouche can be contacted at [email protected].