Ben Gibson

El Tio's Mexican restaurant in Statesville had been gone for over 25 years, but as the building was demolished earlier this month, nostalgia surfaced for the restaurant's former owner and operator, Bill Lackey.

The building was torn down along with others in the Newtowne Shopping Center .

"I didn't want to witness it being bulldozed because I had so many wonderful memories there and so many people do, and they're begging us to open one more," Lackey said.

Located beside a small theater and another of the Lackey family's restaurants, El Tio's became a favorite in town after it opened in 1979. The restaurant was open for 20 years.

"We had such a diverse group of people coming in," Lackey said. "We'd have the public, of course, the fire departments, the fire chief, the m

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