The Mexican restaurant, El Compadre, has opened a third location on Marine Drive in Astoria, and the response has been, so far, so good, according to owner Maria Avelar.

El Ranchero, previously owned by Avelar from 2002 to 2006, was in the same location before the name change last week. Since then, two different owners have tried to make the same spot work. Now, with the same name as the other two locations, Avelar is ready to take another crack at it.

El Compadre is also located in Warrenton and Long Beach, Wash.

We did it to expand our business, Avelar said. 

We have a lot of customers who come from the other end of town, from Knappa and Svensen, and they asked about it because they knew it was good so we decided to reopen it, she said of the Astoria location.

El Compadre has been in Warrenton for eight years and in Long Beach for five years.

They are not different. Everything is the same, the same menu in all three locations, she said. We follow the recipe and we stick to it. There are no big changes. Different cooks and a different hen, but the same food.

The restaurant is located at 2975 Marine Drive.