WESTBROOK – The Fajita Grill Mexican restaurant has reopened, about a week after being raided by federal agents who arrested its owner.

According to Fajita Grill’s Facebook page, the restaurant reopened at 4 p.m. Tuesday and was open again Wednesday for lunch and dinner. The page also says stickers that say “I (heart) Fajita Grill” will be available by the end of this week.

The restaurant has received an outpouring of support from patrons since the raid on Sept. 21 by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Alex Smith, a waitress at the restaurant, said Wednesday that four or five customers and family members of employees have been volunteering their time to wash dishes and serve food at the restaurant.

Eleven employees of the Fajita Grill and the Cancun restaurants in Biddeford and Waterville, which also were raided, are being held in the Cumberland County Jail, a jail official said Tuesday.

Faijta Grill’s owner, Guillermo Fuentes, and his brother Hector Fuentes, who owns the Cancun restaurants, were both released from jail on bail Sept. 22.

The brothers are both charged with conspiracy to harbor illegal aliens and employment of illegal aliens.

In a press release, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday that it recently completed a seven-day nationwide sweep that led to the arrests of 2,900 convicted criminal aliens, including 111 in New England. The release did not say whether those included the owners or employees of the Fajita Grill and Cancun restaurants.

Cancun in Waterville reopened on Sept. 23. No one answered the telephone at the Biddeford location on Wednesday afternoon.

Staff Writer Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:

lbridgers@pressherald.com

 

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