I had to remind Antonio Carafelli how long he’s been running El Tango in Lakewood, which I reviewed for the Free Times back in 2001, soon after he opened the doors.
“I can’t even remember it’s been so long – 20 years, 30 years?” he asks me.
When Carafelli opened the place on Madison Avenue 24 years ago, it was officially called El Tango Taqueria because that’s what the place was – a taqueria. The small storefront sold tacos and burritos starring the owner’s proprietary spice blends, which he crafted from New Mexican chiles that he personally imported.
Before long, Carafelli added a small dining room, began offering more ambitious nightly specials, and changed the name to El Tango Latin Grill. If you’ve dined there over the years, you likely have experienced the cowboy hat-clad owner’s unorthodox approach to business, which is a bit more creative, hands-on and unhurried than your typical operator. When he isn’t manning the grill, Carafelli is playing guitar while playing host.
Since 2001, Carafelli has weathered storm after storm – the Great Recession, Covid, and the lingering effects thereof. But after a quarter century in the restaurant business, Carafelli – who is 80 years old – has decided to pull the plug.
“I woke up two weeks ago and said, you know what, I’m done. I’m not going to work today,” says the owner. “I just got tired of the stress.”
Among the reasons for his retirement, Carafelli ticks off the cost of goods and services, a chronic labor shortage, and an ever-shifting clientele that no longer values the product that he set out to offer all those years ago.
After announcing the closure, Carafelli stated that he was selling the contents of his restaurant. He did not anticipate the level of interest that would follow.
“The last three days there, people have been coming in and buying everything,” he says. “I’m beside myself – I haven’t begun to wrap my head around this whole thing.”
Over the years, many customers have purchased Carafelli’s distinctive artwork, paintings that he crafts in his home studio. That's where he will be spending most his time now, he says.
“I’m not sad at all about the whole thing. It’s fun. I’m having a blast. I’m relaxed, finally.”
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