Owners of Richards Pizza considering Mexican restaurant in Hamilton

The Mexican food would not be served at Richards Pizza locations. It was discontinued there in 1992 because with growing demand, the kitchens were not large enough to prepare pizzas and Mexican dishes, such as tacos, enchiladas and burritos.

Karen Underwood Kramer, a second-generation co-owner with her sister, Gayl Underwood, said whether the restaurant comes to be is somewhat out of their hands.

“We’re going to bid on some property, and that does not mean we will get the property. We have to go through the process,” Underwood Kramer said. “It can’t come about until we acquire property.”

“I was just curious, with the Facebook post, if people remembered the Mexican food, if they were still craving it?” she explained. “I was just looking for 40 or 50 responses.”

The post had 7,700 engagements, well beyond what she expected.

“We held on to all the recipes,” Underwood Kramer said. “We would have to invest in new equipment.”

It would be the same items that were on the previous Mexican menu, and would be “fast casual,” she said. “It’s not fine dining. And this is absolutely, totally dependent upon acquiring the property that we want. There’s not a lot of property that’s available that would be ready to renovate.”

She didn’t name the property of interest, but several available for development, some owned by the city, which has requested proposals from would-be developers.

Native Hamilton resident Jennifer Frechtling called the idea of a comeback “awesome” because “the burritos were super yummy.”

“Back in the day my dad used to get a burrito along with the family pizza and share some with me,” Frechtling said. “I would always go with him to pick up our Richards. Some of my favorite memories!”

The Richards restaurant on Main Street used to be called Richards International Kitchen. It also served barbeque, fish and chips as well as Mexican. Mexican was served from 1970 to 1992.