Abelardo’s Mexican restaurant opens new Shawnee location

The new location has been in the works since early 2023

• Rumors were confirmed in July that the Nebraska-based chain would be coming to a then-vacant building in the Oak Valley Shopping Center.
• The restaurant hours will be from 7 a.m. to midnight daily.
• While Abelardo’s is a chain, Karla Johnson, who brokered the deal, said she does not consider it fast food.
• “They’re just quick serve. There’s nothing fast about their food because the flavor is just as delicious as you would get at a sit-down restaurant,” she said.

The restaurant offers a number of dining options

• Along with its lunch and dinner offerings, it offers breakfast entrees, such as omelets and breakfast burritos, in the morning.
• Additionally, patrons can order à la carte sopes, jalapeño poppers and chile rellenos.
• The restaurant’s kids’ menu features a choice of tacos, enchiladas, chicken nuggets, quesadillas or a cheese omelet.
• It also has desserts, like Cheesecake Chimichangas, regular and stuffed churros and cinnamon chips for dessert.

Abelardo’s has other Kansas City locations

• The company opened a restaurant in Overland Park in the spring. It plans to open another location in the area in early 2024.
• There are also locations in Olathe, Kansas City, Missouri, and Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
• Based in Nebraska, Abelardo’s has dozens of locations across the Midwest, including in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Oklahoma and Illinois.

The restaurant adds to Oak Valley Shopping Center

• Over the years, several changes have come to the shopping center on the west side of K-7 Highway.
• Today, a Kid Stop childcare facility, a boutique, a Chinese food restaurant and a now-closed Bank of Blue Valley branch are among the remaining tenants of the shopping center.
• Johnson said she wanted to bring the restaurant to the shopping center to give it a family dining option.
• “One of my favorite things about Abelardo’s is that it’s a family atmosphere. A lot of people have asked ‘Are you going to serve alcohol?’ And they don’t want to. This is just a family restaurant,” she said.

Other restaurant news: Mexican supermarket and restaurant coming to Shawnee