Mexican is about to join pizza as a new dining option at Bennett’s Creek Crossing.

After the recent opening of a Pizza Hut at the shopping center, the owner of Harbour View’s La Parrilla Mexican restaurant is preparing to open a new eatery there of the same name.

The new La Parrilla will open in the building of former Bennett’s Creek Crossing Mexican restaurant El Burrito Loco, at 3575 Bridge Road.

The existing La Parrilla in Harbour View opened in December 2009, and manager Cesar Garcia anticipates the new restaurant will be trading within “three or four months.”

The decision to open a new restaurant such a short distance from the existing one underscores the small business potential of the area surrounding Harbour View, which is fast becoming a new home to many families.

“We have been so busy here weekends, and sometimes a lot of customers leave because there’s a long line,” Garcia said.

“We saw the opportunity that the restaurant (El Burrito Loco) was closed, and we just tried to see if we could split” La Parrilla’s customer base.

The new La Parrilla will be designed to look and function much the same as the existing one, according to Garcia.

It will be the “same set-up” as the Harbour View restaurant, and look “very similar, kind of like the same.”

The business in Harbour View has been “going pretty well,” Garcia said.

He said it employs about 18 workers. He could not predict how many new workers would be hired for Bennett’s Creek Crossing.

“I have no idea, because we don’t know how busy it’s going to be,” he said.

Garcia said Ricardo Perez, who owns the existing La Parrilla, is opening the new restaurant.

Perez also owns four more Mexican eateries by the name of 3 Amigos, three in Hampton Roads and one across the North Carolina line.

Establishing a new La Parrilla is a logical move, Garcia said. “It’s something we needed to do,” he said.

Just as the existing one, the new La Parrilla will have a family friendly and fun atmosphere.

“It’s a family restaurant where you can come and dine with your family,” Garcia said. “It’s not loud, just a good place to dine.”