Restaurante El Pulgarcito is getting bigger — and the owners say the move is all about giving Storm Lake a place that feels like home.
The Salvadoran restaurant is expanding just two doors west of its current space at 805 Flindt Drive, staying in the same suite building but adding room, comfort and new features for customers.
Owner Veraliz Cordova and her mother Dora Castillo opened El Pulgarcito a year and a half ago. Through a translator, Cordova says her family’s roots in El Salvador shaped everything about the restaurant — especially the food.
The expansion includes a larger kitchen, a wider bar and new décor designed to make the space more inviting. Cordova has repainted the entire interior, added new tables and chairs and installed backdrops for customers to take photographs.
She says the biggest reason for expanding is simple: customers needed more room.
Cordova says El Pulgarcito has become a gathering place for Storm Lake’s Latino community and for customers from many other cultural backgrounds. Diners travel from Omaha, Des Moines and nearby towns to try the restaurant’s pupusas, yuca frita, pastelitos and desserts.
Cordova says the new space will eventually include karaoke nights. She hopes the reopening gives customers a deeper sense of Salvadoran culture and the hospitality her family brings to the table.
The grand reopening is planned for Saturday. Current hours remain Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The restaurant is closed Mondays for now, though Cordova hopes to expand hours in the future.
