A new Mexican restaurant has opened its doors at Swatara Square in Swatara Township, serving tacos, burritos, enchiladas and more with a counter-order setup that seats about 60 people. Señor El Sol Mexican Grill opened on September 12 at 6301 Grayson Road, tucked into the busy shopping center anchored by a Giant supermarket, and it's already the third location under owner Juan Garcia's growing fast-casual banner.
The Swatara Township opening comes just seven months after Garcia debuted the first Señor El Sol at 275 Hershey Road in South Hanover Township near Hummelstown, according to PennLive. Garcia also owns El Sol Express in Swatara Township, giving him a trio of fast-casual outposts built around what the brand calls “authentic Mexican dining at its best.” He told the outlet he picked the Grayson Road spot for its potential, its parking, and its traffic.
A Menu Built for Grab-and-Go
Señor El Sol runs on a mostly takeout model, with customers ordering at the counter and food brought to their table rather than full table service. The menu spans appetizers, desserts, quesadillas, salads, bowls, fajitas, tacos, tortas, burritos and enchiladas, per the same PennLive report. Starters include ceviche, birria egg rolls, cantina taquitos, guacamole and queso dips, while entrees range from carne asada and chile relleno to grilled chicken breast topped with roasted corn, peppers and spicy diablo sauce. The restaurant is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
A Bigger Shift Away From Full-Service Dining
The Swatara Township opening caps a busy year of restructuring for Garcia, who formerly owned El Sol Mexican Restaurant in Harrisburg. He and his wife, Lisa, founded that flagship on May 29, 2007, at 18 S. Third Street downtown, putting up their own home as collateral to finance the launch, according to the Central Penn Business Journal. In January 2026, that downtown restaurant publicly announced it was seeking a buyer after more than 18 years in business, a move that helped pave the way for Garcia's pivot toward the leaner Señor El Sol format.
Garcia also closed El Sol Cantina in Hampden Township on August 29, ending a five-year run at 3721 Market St., a former Federal Taphouse location on the West Shore, so he could concentrate on expanding the fast-casual concept. It wasn't his first experiment with quick-serve dining — back in 2016, Garcia planned Fresa Café on 3rd inside Harrisburg's Strawberry Square, a spot that served fresh salads, wraps and paninis to downtown office workers, according to the TheBurg.
Why Swatara Square Made Sense
The location itself offers built-in foot traffic. Swatara Square is a 103,783-square-foot shopping center anchored by Giant, according to Bennett Williams Commercial, and it sits along U.S. Route 322, a corridor that carries an estimated 51,000 vehicles per day as a primary east-west connector between Harrisburg, Hummelstown and Hershey. The plaza also includes a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board Fine Wine & Good Spirits store, which adds another steady stream of daily shoppers to the strip.
The surrounding township offers a natural customer base for the new grill. Swatara Township has approximately 27,953 residents, with Hispanic or Latino community members making up roughly 9.0% of the population, per Census Reporter data drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau. The township's median household income sits at $80,444. The Giant anchoring the plaza itself has a relatively recent history, having opened in 2020 after replacing a Weis Markets store that had operated at the site for nearly two decades before closing in September 2019, according to FOX43.
