Capricho, 215 Princess St. in downtown Wilmington, has new owners.

Former owner Brian Mayberry, who also operates The Dixie Grill, 116 Market St., and Roadhouse, 4001 Wrightsville Ave., said he sold the restaurant to Aaron Johnson and Daniel Souden in June.

Mayberry closed Capricho for restructuring in January, but re-opened in May. Around that same time, he expressed his interest in selling the business to Johnson, his kitchen manager at The Dixie.

“I realized I really needed to keep my focus on Roadhouse and continue to get it where it needs to be,” Mayberry said.
Johnson, who has worked for Mayberry at the Dixie on and off for five years, said he began considering the purchase almost immediately, and brought the idea to Souden, a friend and former co-worker who is currently the executive chef at Siena Trattoria.

“We knew this was an opportunity to take over an existing restaurant and finally have a place of our own without going into debt,” Johnson said.

While Johnson and Souden have made some adjustments to the menu, the Mexican eatery is still serving authentic Mexican street foods such as empanadas, tamales and tacos. And of course the always popular elotes, or Mexican street corn.  New to the menu are churros and burrito bowls, and Johnson and Souden are implementing specials for each day of the week such as taco flights on Tuesdays. And Mexican beer will soon be available once permits are finalized.

“With an a la carte menu like this, you can easily have a quick meal for under $10,” Johnson said. “You only pay for what you want and we do our best to get everything out in less than 10 minutes.”

Johnson said lunch service has been steady throughout the summer, and he believes the restaurant’s partnership with Uber Eats will help once the seasonal foot traffic dies down.

While the restaurant’s hours were previously somewhat irregular, Capricho is now open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Sunday through Wednesday and until 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, with the possibility of late night hours in the future.

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