A beloved local eatery that has served enchiladas and tacos to generations of Dallas diners is up for grabs.

The landmark downtown El Fenix restaurant building on McKinney Avenue at Woodall Rodgers Freeway is part of the two-block property just listed for sale.

The El Fenix building — along with two other popular restaurants on the same block — are on an almost 4-acre development site being offered to buyers by brokers at Dallas-based HFF.

It's one of the largest remaining high-rise building sites at the front door to Dallas' booming Uptown district. The prime property is already surrounded by office and apartment towers on two sides.

El Fenix has been on the high-profile property for a century. The restaurant known for its popular Wednesday enchilada specials moved into the current building in the mid-1960s.

Dallas-based of Firebird Restaurant Group LLP owns El Fenix and the two restaurants it shares the block with, Meso Maya and La Ventana.

Firebird bought the restaurants and parking lots in 2008.

Firebird founder Mike Karns said he plans to keep operating El Fenix and the other restaurants under a lease if the property sells.

"Our plan is to keep all three restaurants open and operating in their current location, as well as potentially add new restaurants to a future development," Karns said in an email. "This new development will likely include a combination of large office buildings, apartments and a hotel, which will bring additional traffic and density to the area, further bolstering the success of our existing restaurants.

"The 4-acre site is near Klyde Warren Park and in the heart of the activity between the Perot Museum of Nature and Science and surrounding new mixed use developments is prime for redevelopment," he said. "This is an exciting opportunity for Dallas to continue to develop vibrancy in our city center, adding to the energy of increased office, residential, restaurant and cultural amenities."

The landmark downtown El Fenix restaurant building on McKinney Avenue at Woodall Rodgers Freeway, shown on Tuesday, April 2, 2019, is part of a two-block property just listed for sale. (Shaban Athuman / Staff Photographer)

HFF is marketing the El Fenix tract for a future development called Triton.

The real estate brokers describe the offering as "Uptown Dallas' premier development opportunity."

Current zoning would allow more than 1.7 million square feet of construction on the tract.

The property is described by HFF as "the last remaining developable city block in Uptown Dallas."

The El Fenix site is across the street from Uptown's new $350 million Union Dallas complex, which includes high-rise offices, residential and a shopping center.

Mike Ebert, CEO of Union's builder RED Development, said the El Fenix property is a good building site. "It will attract interest from all the uses — office, hotel, residential and retail."

Keeping the restaurants open while using the parking lots for construction will be a challenge, Ebert said.

"It's a great site with a great neighborhood," said Jack Crews, managing director with commercial property firm JLL. "There are very few remaining sites to acquire."

Crews said other Uptown properties are already being positioned for the next round of high-rise construction in the area just north of downtown.

Based on recent development site sales in Uptown, the El Fenix tract could fetch as much as $50 million for just the land.

In 2008, Firebird Restaurant Groups paid an estimated $30 million plus for the entire 15-restaurant El Fenix chain and the downtown land.

Karns recently sold a smaller building in the neighborhood on Akard Street and Olive where builders are planning a 22-story office tower.