El Salto brings restaurant favorites home with takeout margaritas, exclusive beer & tequila

What’s better than drinking a margarita at El Salto during the dog days of summer? Drinking an El Salto margarita from the comfort of your own home! Customers can now bring the restaurant experience home thanks to the Mexican restaurant’s growing lineup of takeout alcoholic beverages, including bottled margaritas, exclusive craft beers and private-label tequila available at select locations.

The new offerings are available at El Salto’s Valparaiso, Munster and Schererville restaurants, giving customers another way to enjoy their favorite drinks beyond the dining room. While takeout cocktails became increasingly popular during the pandemic, El Salto has continued to build on that demand, offering customers a convenient way to enjoy its signature beverages wherever the occasion takes them.

“We just saw a want for it during COVID,” Chief Operating Officer Jose Mendoza said. “People were always asking for our drinks, especially the margaritas, so we finally decided to start doing it this past year.”

The restaurant prepares its margaritas in-house before sealing them in ready-to-serve 32-ounce containers. Each bottle contains enough for about four margaritas since they’re sold without ice — customers simply shake the container, pour the drink over ice and enjoy. The bottles are currently priced at $18.95, making them an easy addition to a takeout meal or a convenient option for parties and gatherings.

El Salto already has plans to grow the program. While customers can currently find multiple margarita flavors prepared in-house, the restaurant is preparing to transition production to an outside manufacturer. The first bottled flavor will be its classic lime margarita, with hopes of introducing additional flavors in the future. Larger 1.5-liter bottles are also planned for customers entertaining larger groups.

Beyond margaritas, El Salto has expanded its beverage lineup through exclusive partnerships. The restaurant teamed up with a brewery to create two beers available only through El Salto: a crisp Mexican lager and a hazy IPA. It also offers its own private-label reposado tequila, produced in partnership with a distillery in Mexico.

Together, the exclusive beverages give customers the opportunity to enjoy drinks they won’t find anywhere else while complementing the restaurant’s menu at home.

Whether customers are grabbing dinner to go or stocking up for a weekend celebration, Mendoza said the response has exceeded expectations.

“We’ve had people come in and buy 15 margaritas for a pool party,” Mendoza said. “Then we also have people ordering takeout who see them displayed at the front, pick one up and take it home with their food. It’s a little bit of both.”

Mendoza said the variety of customers purchasing the beverages has been one of the biggest surprises. Some stop in specifically for bottled margaritas before hosting friends or family, while others make an impulse purchase after seeing the drinks on display while picking up their meal. Either way, the goal is the same: making it easier to enjoy El Salto’s signature drinks outside the restaurant.

Convenience is what makes the program stand out. Instead of trying to recreate a restaurant-quality margarita at home, customers can enjoy the same drink they know from El Salto wherever they’re celebrating.

“We hope people have the same experience they would have at the restaurant, just in the comfort of their own home,” Mendoza said. “Whether it’s a celebration or anything like that, you know what you’re getting — a good margarita.”