A year-and-a-half after Acapulco Joe's owner was nearly killed in an attack outside his Mexican restaurant, he has sold the downtown Indianapolis business and it has closed for renovations.
Surgeons removed part of Grand Redmond’s skull to address bleeding and a clot in his brain due to fractures he suffered during the March 13, 2018, attack that happened after Redmond confronted a man for trying to skip out on a $50 tab.
Acapulco Joe's new owner, restaurant operator Ezequiel Fuentes, shuttered the 365 N. Illinois St. restaurant Oct. 14 to upgrade the site. More information about the restaurant’s Oct. 27 re-opening will be announced soon, according to a press release.
Fuentes plans to continue using Acapulco Joe’s recipes including the restaurant’s popular salsa.
Billed as Indianapolis’ first Mexican restaurant, according to Acapulco Joe’s website, the place opened in 1960. Besides serving tacos, burritos, refried beans and other Mexican dishes, the restaurant became known for playing Kate Smith’s version of the song “God Bless America” every day at noon.
Acapulco Joe’s original owner Joe Rangal would crank up the volume, forcing diners to stop talking and listen to the song. For Rangal, who first tried to emigrate from Mexico’s state of Guanajuato to the United States when he was 13, playing the song daily was a tribute to America and the opportunities the country provided.
Rangal was deported six times and finally sent to prison for illegal entry into the United States. After serving his nine-month prison term in Springfield, Mo., Rangal married an American woman and eventually started working in restaurants.
Acapulco Joe's changed hands a couple times after Rangel died in 1988. Redmond, from Indianapolis’ near south side, had worked as an electrical engineer before he purchased Acapulco Joe’s in 2013. The restaurant fed his love of cooking, a passion that dated to his childhood and led to gigs in catering, bartending and event planning.
Maurice Dunlap in August 2018 pleaded guilty to aggravated battery and theft charges related to the attack on Redmond. Dunlap was sentenced to nearly 35 years in prison.
Police said Redmond was beaten unconscious. His longtime partner, Robert Plank, told IndyStar in March 2018 that Redmond suffered a bruise on his brain that affected his language skills.
Acapulco Joe’s was originally on the west side of the Vermont and Illinois street crossroads. That location closed in 1982 to make way for a parking lot to serve AUL Tower, now OneAmerica Tower.
Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, and on Facebook. Call her at 317-444-6264.
https://www.indystar.com/story/entertainment/dining/restaurants/2019/10/15/indianapolis-mexican-restaurant-acapulco-joes-closes-new-owner-renovates-space/3983359002/ 2019-10-15 12:20:00Z
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