A downtown shopping center in Waco will be open in its entirety starting this weekend.
Hecho en Waco, a Mexican restaurant is the final business set to open at the Mary Avenue Market.
Owner Pedro Leon who is originally from Mexico has lived in Waco for 10 years said downtown Waco is the perfect location for this restaurant, which will be officially open for business on Saturday.
"I'm seeing that downtown Waco has a lot of potential. It's a great area at the moment," Leon said. "There are a lot of people who are working on projects and investing in this area," Leon said.
GoodTimber Furnishings, Fox and Gray, Pie Peddlers and Iron Willow are the other four stores at the market.
GoodTimber Furnishings Owner Lekisha Atkin opened that store with her husband last month. The couple from Katy chose to move after they visited Waco.
"We saw the for lease sign here and given the location in the downtown Waco. Our hearts just skipped a beat. We know we were where we supposed to be," Atkin said.
The Market Avenue Market is located within walking distance from the Magnolia Silos, which draw thousands of visitors every week.
"We got a local traffic, we get a lot of out of state traffic. That's one of my favorite questions when they come into the store because you never know what they're going to say," Atkin said.
Leon is excited to welcome customers to his newly opened restaurant.
"We put a lot of effort to get where we are but we are ready to please customers," Leon said.
According to City Center Waco, the number of visitors at attractions in the Waco area has increased from 500,000 to almost 3 million annually since 2014.
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