Mexican food fans, rejoice.

During the last week and a half, two new Mexican restaurants have opened in Charleston.

The first to open was El Pueblo, located at 1415 4th St., where La Bamba used to be.

It opened last Wednesday.

The second to open was Los Portillos, located at 1305 Lincoln Ave., where restaurant Russ and Lynda’s used to be.

According to Holly Pucheta, waitress and hostess at El Pueblo, their restaurant wants students and residents to know they are very different from La Bamba, even though they are in the same building.

“A lot of students are still walking by and are like, ‘Are you guys open?’ or ‘Are you different from La Bamba?'” Pucheta said. “This is more like a traditional Mexican restaurant where it makes it feel like you are really in Mexico . La Bamba was more like a fast-food restaurant.”

El Pueblo is affiliated with El Rancherito, another Mexican restaurant in Charleston. Agustina Fuentes, co-owner of El Pueblo and El Rancherito, said they opened the new restaurant because El Rancherito is usually very busy on Friday and Saturday, so they built the new one to alleviate the congestion.

Also, because of the new location, El Pueblo is able to fit larger parties of 10 or 12.

The other co-owners of El Pueblo are Josefina Jacinto and Agustin Angel. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. for full-service, and from Wednesday to Saturday nights, it is open until 3 a.m. or “until people stop coming.”

Pucheta said even though they have been only open for about a week, things have been going steadily.

“We’ve been busy off and on, which has been nice because we are all still trying to get used to having a new restaurant,” Pucheta said. “We wanted to come here so we could serve the students. A lot of students don’t drive, so with this location we are within walking distance.”

Pucheta said Eastern students will get a 10 percent discount when they show their Panther Card.

However, for the other new sit-down Mexican restaurant, Los Portillos, business has been a little different.

Carlos Bega, co-owner of Los Portillos, said their restaurant has been very busy since it opened this Monday.

He believes they haven’t had trouble opening because Los Portillos is affiliated with the Champaign-based Dos Reales, and is also the second Los Portillos to open in Illinois.

The first one was built in Bloomington-Normal in October 2005.

Bega and co-owner Elias Amador decided to make Charleston their location for a new Los Portillos because they said it was a good location with students and small-town atmosphere. They also talked with the owners of Russ and Lynda’s, who were looking to retire after opening in 1972, and decided to buy the building and renovate it over the summer.

Even with three sit-down Mexican restaurants in town now, Bega says he is not worried about competition.

“Or menu is different from the other restaurants,” Bega said. “We have our recipes and they have their recipes, so people will decide which one they like better. They’re the ones with the choice.”

Los Portillos is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday, and open from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

This coming Monday, Los Portillos will have a live Mariachi band from 5 to 8 p.m. with food and drink specials.

“We believe that the customers are No. 1,” Bega said. “Without customers you cannot do anything.”