Yet another Mexican restaurant may be coming to Ames.

Officials from Diamond Dave’s, a Mexican restaurant chain, are negotiating with North Grand Mall officials to open shop in the mall, said Shelly Geocke, marketing manager for the mall.

Plans are nearly finalized, she said, except for a few final details.

The Ames Planning and Zoning Commission approved a change in the sign on the east side of North Grand Mall, which would switch it from Hardee’s to Diamond Dave’s. The proposal stated that the former Hardee’s restaurant space will be divided into two restaurant locations.

The Diamond Dave’s will be accessible only from the exterior of the mall. A space is reserved for another restaurant to be accessible only from the interior of the mall.

A Diamond Dave’s would bring the total of Mexican restaurants in Ames to 10: O’Malley & McGee’s Mexican Cafe, 716 S. Duff Ave.; La Fuente Mexican Restaurant, 217 S. Duff Ave.; Cazador, 127 Dotson Dr.; Panchero’s, 109 Welch Ave.; Taco Bell, 2650 Lincoln Way; Taco John’s, 129 S. Duff Ave.; Taco Time, 511 Lincoln Way; Casa Ortega, in the Memorial Union Food Court; and Carlos O’Kelley’s is coming to 631 Lincoln Way.

Mayor Larry Curtis said he likes Mexican food and likes the variety of restaurants.

“I enjoy their product, and I’m happy that they’re interested in the city of Ames, and I welcome them all,” he said.

Earl Hammond, professor of food science and nutrition, credits the growth in the popularity of Mexican cuisine to the migration of people to the American Southwest, fast food restaurants, and, to a lesser degree, the migration of Mexican workers to the Midwest.

“The migration of people to the southwestern part of the United States has contributed. They’ve eaten and cooked Mexican cuisine and introduced it to their friends,” he said.

In addition, Taco Bell and other fast food places have made people more aware of Mexican cuisine, he said.

Kevin Rettig, manager of O’Malley & McGee’s Mexican Cafe, the oldest Mexican restaurant in Ames, said Mexican and Southwestern cooking ideas are becoming more widespread in the American diet.

As far as the increase of Mexican restaurants in Ames, he said O’Malley & McGee’s, which has been in business for 16 years, should be able to compete.

“With us not being a chain, it helps. We’re local people; we eat it, breathe it, sleep it. I think that’s our advantage: our customer service, our food and being around as many years as we have,” he said.