Arlington Eats: Mexican & American Cuisine Topped with the Christmas Spirit at Campo Verde

By Office of Communication

Posted on December 13, 2021, December 13, 2021

In the latest episode of Arlington Eats on MyArlingtonTV, host Jeremy Thomas visits Campo Verde, located at 2918 W Pioneer Pkwy.

Campo Verde owner James H. Williams named the restaurant after an old partner and businessman Lee Greenfield. Campo meaning camp or field and verde meaning green. 

“I’d have to say we’re a little different than most Mexican food restaurants,” Williams said. “Ours is more Southwest. It is a combination of Southwestern, Sonoran type Mexican food and Tex-Mex combined.”

You can find black bean soup, elk, buffalo, all kinds of fajitas and more. 

“But we also have a lot of American food appetizers and things like fried cheeses, potato skins. Lot of people don’t have that either because I like more of a mix.”

Customers rejoice not only over the variety of foods but also because of Campo Verde’s festive spirit. The Christmas Wonderland inside is as much an institution as the restaurant itself off 2918 W. Pioneer Pkwy has been around for nearly 40 years.

“It’s a big Christmas party for us and it’s like that every day,” Williams said. 

Christmas at Campo Verde started decades ago when a former employee brought in a Christmas tree and a small number of decorations.

“Well as you can tell it got out of hand,” Williams exclaimed. “It’s been out of hand ever since. We’ve decorated this much and more right at 40 years.”

There are more than 200,000 lights, 50 renditions of Santa Claus, 3,000 yards of garland and two iconic model trains that travel more than 600 feet throughout the entire restaurant and bar. From the first week of October, it takes employees 6-8 weeks to turn Campo Verde into this holiday spectacular. Williams believes none of this would be possible without the help of his employees and customers from across the area including The American Dream City.

“They’ll be a line from the time we open until after closing, but they don’t mind,” Williams said. “I don’t take this stuff down until the first week of April, they get mad because I take it down. But they have fun in here. That’s where we get the enjoyment. They’re taking pictures, having fun. That’s what we get out of it. People when they walk through this front door right here and look up.”

You can view operation hours and learn more about on Campo Verde’s website.