Patrons of El Mariachi Mexican restaurant might not have to wait quite so long to be seated if the city approves owner Pantaleon Mata's plans for expansion.

Mata recently bought the building adjacent to El Mariachi, formerly the Great Dragon Buffet, from Cheng Xiou Yue, and hopes to use it to create additional space for his Main Street restaurant.

"A lot of people want to bring some groups, and I don't have any space," Mata said. "I receive a lot of calls from people who say, 'Can you manage 30 or 35 people?' This is going to help me a lot."

The restaurant currently seats about 110 people. With the additional space, Mata expects room for about 60 more.

He said business has been very good, but customers are forced to wait too long to be seated. This hurts business even more in the winter, when people are less likely to stand outside to wait for a table.

"This place is not big enough for the business I've got," Mata said. "Last Saturday night we had close to a two-hour wait."

Mata will have to have plans drawn up before the city would give him approval for the project.

He also hopes that with the additional space, he can acquire a full liquor license. El Mariachi currently has only a beer and wine license.

"This is a family restaurant," Mata said. "We don't want a bar for people to just come to have drinks. We just want something to prepare the drinks and bring them to the customers."

There is one liquor license available, Zoning Administrator Craig Hoium said, but to get it, Mata's buildings have to meet certain criteria.

The problem for Mata could come from the $350,000 minimum market value requirement. El Mariachi's current market value is just under $103,000, and the Great Dragon Buffet is at about $65,000. That means Mata will have to make some improvements to even apply for the license.

Mata plans to knock out a portion of the wall separating the two restaurants, creating an arched doorway between the sections.

He will have to stucco the walls and make other adjustments so the two areas match. He said he'll also need to reequip the kitchen with new stoves and ovens.

Mata said he would use both kitchens to keep up with business and would probably hire three new employees.

He predicts the extra customers should offset the costs.

"If I do all this renovation, my business will go up 35 percent," he said.

Matt Merritt can be reached at 434-2214 or by email at matt.merritt@austindailyherald.com