‘People want to come to something in the barrio that’s nice. And this is <i> nice.</i> ‘

When the restaurant named after renowed Mexican artist and muralist Rufino Tamayo opened last year, it was billed to be more than just another ritzy Mexican restaurant. The Los Angeles area certainly has enough of those.

But this one was different, its backers argued, because of where it was--on the Eastside.

Officials at the East Los Angeles Community Union, a community development corporation that spearheaded the nearly $4-million venture, gambled that East Los Angeles--viewed by most outsiders as a place too violent to live in or visit--could support a chic eatery.

“People want to come to something in the barrio that’s nice,” said TELACU President David Lizarraga. “And this is nice. “

Few expenses were spared to turn an old barn of a structure in the 5300 block of East Olympic Boulevard into a pink stucco showcase. Imported floor tiles and marble, three mini-waterfalls and several oversized tapestries of the famed master’s works were made part of the structure that at various times housed the California Highway Patrol and the Brown Berets, the 1970s Chicano militant group.

And the menu featured Mexican regional cuisine, a far cry from the traditional Sonora dishes that are usually associated with food south of the border. Selections ranged from huachinango flameado (whole marinated red snapper roasted in an open pit) to pollo pibil (chicken marinated in many spices and orange juice, wrapped in banana leaves and baked in the hearth ashes).

But in 15 months of business, the grand experiment, as Lizarraga refers to the restaurant, has struggled.

Business, particularly on weekday nights, has been slow. On many evenings, the harp player, hired to bring a touch of elegance while diners linger over their meals, plays to a virtually empty dining room that seats 165 people.

While the restaurant seemed to hold its own with its lunches and catered events, the weekends also proved disheartening. Few patrons found their way into the Eastside establishment.

Losses were such that Stanley Kandel, a developer who helped establish the glitzy celebrity-favored Spago restaurant, decided last December to pull out of the partnership that headed up the restaurant.

‘Overly Optimistic’

“I think I was overly optimistic, considering the location,” he said.

Lizarraga and TELACU officials admit to strategy errors that probably contributed to Tamayo’s slow start.

Prices ranging up to $22 were probably too high for area residents, and too much effort may have been made to attract Westsiders.

Also, the thing that supposedly set Tamayo apart, its location, may also be part of the problem. One Tamayo insider said it would be a “huge roaring success” if located on the Westside.

But Lizarraga, ever the optimist, is not about to throw in the towel.

Under a new management team, the menu’s selections were broadened earlier this year to include burritos, enchiladas, carnitas and other familiar dishes. And prices were cut--$17.95 for the marinated and grilled baby goat is the most expensive plate.

Also, residents in Montebello, Monterey Park, Commerce, Pico Rivera and other surrounding communities will be targeted in a still-evolving marketing campaign.

“Maybe I’m just a dreamer,” Lizarraga said, “but I really believe there is a need for Tamayo to be here. We believe in the long-term development of East L.A.”