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Eric Phillips remembers being made fun of when he established Nacho Mama's nine years ago in a standalone building in the Marco Walk plaza courtyard.

QUENTIN ROUX / Eagle staff

Juan Garcia hitches a ride on a backhoe bucket to remove fittings from the half-demolished Nacho Mama’s building. The new Nacho Mama’s is scheduled to open at Marco Walk some time in October.

His plan was to surround the building with tentlike awnings to cocoon diners in air-conditioning in summer, but roll them up in winter so guests could enjoy eats and drinks in fresh air.

It would be a sociable outdoor place, a little bit of sports bar and lots of Tex-Mex cuisine.

Phillips went ahead nevertheless, at first using black awnings, but later replacing them with see-through plastic, which gave the interior an airy feeling.

The result was a hit as Phillips and his staff served a wide clientele, ranging from vacationers during season to late-nighters and partygoers in the summer months.

Three years ago, Phillips and his business partner, Tony Rainone, had to rethink the whole operation.

QUENTIN ROUX / Eagle staff

Dave Tucker packs up his crane after removing some big air-conditioning units from the Nacho Mama’s building at Marco Walk plaza. Nacho Mama’s comes down this week, but will re-emerge to the rear of its location to become part of a planned food courtyard at the plaza.

New plaza owner Leon Agami envisioned a food "court" that would feature mostly restaurants around its perimeter, but Nacho's would have to go if his particular dream was to materialize.

Those three years were tough, Phillips remembers, because that's how long it took the parties to see eye-to-eye on an amicable outcome.

This week, the outcome was visible to anybody who visited Marco Walk.

Bit by bit, the building came down.

And, come season, Nacho Mama's new location — directly behind the demolished building — will take its place along with places like Konrad's, DaVinci's, Rookie's, Cathy O'Clarke's Irish Pub & Grille, Beebe's (ice-cream), Marco Movies dine-in theaters, and 5 Brothers pizza to offer a wide variety of local and international cuisine.

Phillips is nostalgic about the change, but believes the food court idea has great merit.

"I'm feeling good about the future," he said. "We're tripling in size, not that bigger is always better, but we need bigger premises to get our full liquor license."

He said the end result of the courtyard with its fountains and paving would undoubtedly attract plenty of people.

Rainone agreed.

"It's going to be the hot spot of the island," he said. "Nacho's had a great life and made lots of friends, and we're going to be a big part of the courtyard."

Phillips said little will change in the new Nacho Mama's, other than the location.

"We'll still be Tex-Mex, with some upgrading in certain areas, and will still have the pool tables and TVs," he said. "We also want to become known for our margaritas."

Phillips said the interior theme colors will be khakis and golds, with faux painting and slate flooring.

"It's about a $700,000 investment," he said of the project.

Hours, as always, will be 11 a.m. through 1 a.m., seven days a week.