SALSA, CHIPS AND TCHOTCHKES

Regulars don’t flock to Los Angeles’ El Coyote Mexican restaurant just for cheap eats and high-octane margaritas. There’s also that sale window in the foyer.

An eye-catcher amid the feverish decorative splendor of 70-year-old El Coyote, the showcase displays a protean bargain bazaar of toys, El Coyote wear and miscellaneous knickknacks. Items available on a recent afternoon included an El Coyote mug for $3.50, a Lovely Princess Deluxe Play Set priced at $2.50 and a $12.50 miniature wood guitar. For big spenders, there was a frog-on-a-lily-pad coffee service for $29.95 or the $39.95 Classic Wildlife Collection model of horses leaping over rocky terrain.

The window is the responsibility of Maria Garcia, 70, a manager hired as a cashier 44 years ago. In those days, she says, “We had only things we used to bring from Mexico, and things the owner used to make herself. She put eyelashes and pearls on piggy banks. They were really cute.” As time went by, Garcia says, “I changed the merchandise. Now I have more of a gift department.” She prefers not to reveal her sources. “I’m very fussy about what I put in the window.”

The gift items are especially popular with children and diners on their way to parties. About 25 years ago, Garcia says, the restaurant tried to turn the window into a flower display, but “it only lasted a week because the customers started complaining. They wouldn’t let us change.”

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EL COYOTE, 7312 BEVERLY BLVD., LOS ANGELES; (323) 939-2255.