La Paloma Comes to Kingston, MA

Via Shaunna Gately ~ After nearly 30 years of offering Mexican cuisine to hungry diners in Quincy, the owners of La Paloma are expanding with a second location on Route 3A in Kingston, MA.

More than 300 people received free food at a grand opening celebration on Aug. 10 at the Kingston restaurant. Owners Stephen Dwyer of Plymouth and Michael Walsh of Halifax said they were exhausted but thrilled with the turnout.

In fewer than four months, the restaurateurs transformed a former Italian restaurant into a cozy Latin-inspired restaurant complete with Spanish arches and Mexican flair.

Kathleen Walsh of Pembroke and Sara Feragen of Brockton were commissioned to paint Mexican-themed murals on the walls and ceiling.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Kathleen Walsh, who is Michael Walsh’s sister-in-law. “I don’t usually put my work out there. It was a good challenge for me.”

Entrees range in price from $7 to $16. In addition to fajitas and quesadillas, the menu offers weekly steak, chicken and fish specials – as well as more than a dozen kinds of margaritas.

The 3,000-square-foot Kingston location can comfortably seat up to 85 people at a time, making it slightly larger than the Quincy location. The new location has more than a dozen large booths and a bar that can seat up to 15 people.

“We’re looking for the bar to be a much busier bar than the Quincy location,” Dwyer said. “(But) we close at 10 o’clock, so we’re not looking for a late-night drinking crowd.”

Christo Canenquez, who has served customers at La Paloma in Quincy as its head chef for more than 25 years, is planning to stay at the Kingston location for the first few months to train the kitchen staff and preserve the consistency of flavors and recipes that has kept customers coming back year after year in Quincy.

Menu items ranging from the salsa to the pinto beans are made from fresh produce. The recipes are made from scratch. The restaurant markets its own salsa to several local grocery stores and manufactures its recipe for nearly 200 restaurants. La Paloma also does catering.

Michael Walsh said that because of the excellent profit margins on Mexican food, he and Dwyer decided to develop a franchise model. While they have spoken with several interested investors, they haven’t yet secured any financing to open a franchising business.

Both Michael Walsh and Dwyer would consider opening more locations in the future, but they are taking some time to catch their breath from working on their latest project and to give the Kingston location some time to establish its name.