Maize Mexican Grill located on the corner of First and Green streets will be closing in early June, with demolitions and building projects planned for the land on which the restaurant sits. This closing marks the end of the first restaurant location of one of Champaign’s most popular food chains.
Maize Mexican Grill first opened in October 2011. In the time since its opening, the chain has grown immensely, now offering a food truck, a location in downtown Champaign, and, as of 2023, a location inside the Illini Union food court. Maize has also received several local food awards, including this year’s Best of CU award for Best Mexican Restaurant.
At the moment, little is known about what these building plans specifically entail, but the restaurant will be demolished and there are no plans for rebuilding.
Armando Sandoval, owner of Maize, was informed by property owners about the demolition plans two years ago, but says he had an understanding that demolition was likely since Maize first opened in 2011.
“Since I opened, the first comment that somebody made sort of mentioned that (it) was the place where businesses came to die, and they were gonna tear it down,” Sandoval said. “Every year that I renewed my lease, I was scared that they were gonna tear it down. But I survived there, and it’s gonna be 13 years in June.”
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According to Sandoval, the demolition was originally planned to begin last January, with the location’s closing playing a role in the decision to open a storefront in the Union. The demolition, however, was later pushed back to begin sometime in early June.
“It was around the time that we made the decision to go into the Union,” Sandoval said. “I figured that they were gonna tear it down pretty quickly, so I wanted to look for another spot to have my employees still working … I thought it was gonna be happening in January but then they pushed it to June, so we ended up staying a little bit longer than we expected.”
News of the restaurant closing has spread throughout the community, saddening people who have grown to love the Maize on Green.
“A lot of families that are in town literally come and say that they’re sad that it’s closing,” said Yoanna Hernandez, cashier at Maize on Green and senior in LAS.
Hernandez shared that many customers prefer the Maize on Green to Maize’s other two locations, a fact which she attributes to the location’s homey feel.
“We don’t know why, but a lot of people say that the food here is better than the one at the station or at the Union,” Hernandez said. “It’s all from the same warehouse, which is kind of funny, but since this place is more small, you just feel closer to the customer.”
As a senior graduating this May, Hernandez will not be severely affected by the restaurant closing. Hernandez looks back on her time at Maize fondly, saying that the job was a good experience and that it allowed her to connect with her culture.
“I’m bilingual, I speak English and Spanish,” Hernandez said. “Sometimes Hispanics come that are only Spanish speaking, and it just connects me to my culture, because back home I solely speak Spanish, while here, I really don’t speak as much.”
Reflecting on his 13 years as owner of Maize, Sandoval stated he feels immensely thankful, first for how the restaurant itself has grown and, second, for how it has helped grow Mexican restaurants in the CU community.
“I sort of feel that I brought something different to the community, just because (of) the way that Mexican restaurants were before I came in, and now the few changes that has happened, you know like I was the first one to come in and bring handmade tortillas and sort of take it away from Tex-Mex,” Sandoval said.
Sandoval plans on commemorating the restaurant with a party later this spring.
“We plan to be here until the end of graduation and things like that, so I want to make a big old party, just to celebrate the start and ending of my little spot,” Sandoval said. “(Maize) was my first business, and I’m very thankful to the student community and to the CU community.”
