116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
El Bajio auctions off equipment after final closure
Mar. 3, 2025 3:46 pm, Updated: Mar. 4, 2025 7:35 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A formerly popular Mexican restaurant is auctioning off its equipment on short notice this week, after closing the last of its locations.
A comprehensive auction with hundreds of items from El Bajio Mexican restaurant’s bar and kitchen equipment goes live online at Backes Auctioneers on Tuesday, March 4 at 10 a.m. The auction features a complete grill line, refrigerated chef’s base and a complete bar.
The auction’s notice comes a few months after El Bajio posted a vague “For sale” post on social media in December 2024, though the restaurant never officially announced its closure.
Its flagship location, 555 Gateway Place SW, closed roughly a year after its second location at 1140 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE, which shuttered at the end of 2023.
Owner Javier Garcia first opened El Bajio in 2016. The opening was the culmination of a lifetime of restaurant work, starting as a dishwasher when he came to the United States at age 15.
Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.
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