FAYETTEVILLE — When people heard Diogi’s Mexican Grill and Cantina was relocating from its legendary location below New River Bike and Touring on Keller Avenue, talk circulated that the little restaurant’s air of “coolness” wasn’t making the move.

Loyal patrons felt the wind knocked out of them as the news trickled through the hills and valleys. No longer would they relax in their clandestine cantina sipping margaritas and picking on carnitas as the sun set to the west.

Many thought it was over.

But Oscar and Barbara Aquilar knew something they didn’t.

“Space,” Oscar said with a smile.

That’s the one thing the old location didn’t have much of.

“A lot of people thought when we moved from the old building we’d lose the atmosphere and the coolness,” Oscar said. “But actually it feels a lot better in here because of the room and the high ceilings.”

The added space has changed everything for the Aquilars. It’s allowed them to seat more customers, customers who can be accommodated with a larger parking lot. It’s also allowed for a long, unique bar built by local artisan Justin Burd, which features a constant flowing stream of water with a central fountain.

Barbara said that there’s “so much room here it’s scary.”

Though for Oscar, it’s all about the new kitchen.

The Keller Avenue location hindered what he could do, Oscar said.

“The little room we had there was keeping me from doing what I wanted to do,” he said.

He said the previous kitchen was about 9 feet long. This one measures about 13 feet and can fit three cooks back-to-back. But more importantly, it has storage space, which allows for a larger menu with options for seasonal items.

This has allowed the El Salvadoran-born chef to further his goal of doing things his way when he moved here with Barbara.

Before the Aquilars moved to Fayetteville, Oscar worked in the kitchen of El Azteca Mexican Restaurant in Philadelphia, owned and operated by Barbara. She told him to do his own thing with the menu — inspired by traditional El Salvadoran recipes — once they got here.

But he was limited to what he could keep in the old building.

“When I first moved here, I wanted to do my own stuff,” he said. “I have a big kitchen and room here to do whatever I want now. I’m very happy here.”

Diogi’s now has a diverse menu that includes everything Spanish, but now also includes items like Philly cheese steaks.

He’s pursuing to sell more New York strips and rib-eye steaks now.

“We’re trying to push more steak because there’s no place around here to get good steak,” he said.

He flame-grills his steaks on top of lava rocks that give them “a nice charred taste.”

The new location opened last week and has seen a steady flow of customers, including those loyal patrons, he said.

“We’ve been so busy here,” he said. “It’s been awesome.”

The new location is just off U.S. 19 on North Court Street and when the warm months come, the business should boom, he said.

The Aquilars plan to install a fence that customers can keep their dogs in while they eat. They also plan a covered deck with tables, a couple televisions and a smoker to smoke meats in the summer.

Oscar plans to incorporate locally grown produce into his menu with a seasonal section, he said.

It took the staff at Diogi’s two and a half months to complete the transition into the new building. Many long nights were spent by the staff after long shifts at the old location that closed the first week of January.

“It was a lot of stress getting everything ready,” Oscar said. “But we got to get used to all this. We’ve been very busy now and the season is coming.”

Oscar’s day begins at 10 a.m. as he opens and preps the restaurant; the day ends about 11 p.m. He said he doesn’t mind the long, strenuous hours because it pays off in the end.

“My passion is cooking and making people happy,” he said. “And when people are like, ‘Wow, this is really good,’ that’s me right there. It’s what I like — making people happy.”

— E-mail: cjackson@register-herald.com