We've followed Benny Armas since he was cooking up Mexican food in the kitchen of the old Oak Alley (that building is now home to Hanson's). In the '80s, he finally opened his own place at 225 East Seventh Avenue (now Mizuna), then moved across the street to a bigger space, once home to Chef Henri, where Benny's Restaurant y Tequila Bar has been packing in fans for two decades now.

But not today. Benny's was closed on Super Bowl Sunday, and will remain closed today.

That's because Benny's, which added a second outdoor patio and made changes to its hours last year, adding breakfast, is now getting an internal facelift, one that includes putting in some cushy new red booths that crews were carrying in on Saturday.

Benny's promises to be back in business tomorrow; we'll post updated photos when the renovation is done.

• Word of Mouth