DANBURY – The owner of El Taco Loco – a popular local food truck specializing in authentic Mexican cuisine – is preparing to open a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Main Street.
“This transition happened very quickly, but we are excited to take this next step,” Noel Dominguez, food truck owner at El Taco Loco, said in an email.
The 25-year-old Danbury resident is preparing to open his first downtown restaurant, which will have the same name as his food truck, at 317 Maine Street.
After sitting vacant for two years after Subway closed, the nearly 1,600-square-foot commercial space on the corner of Main and Crosby Streets has been transformed into a Japanese-Latin restaurant called ItadakiMÀS, which closed its doors last month after a year in the business.
Anna Lanos, owner of ItadakiMÀS, which also owns Mothership Bakery & Café, said she believes 317 Main St. It would be great for a taco shop and I decided to help El Taco Loco move into space.
“It was a good opportunity given to us,” Dominguez said. “Anna has helped us a lot in figuring out how to open up[there]to expand our business and try it out.”
Dominguez entered the Danbury dining scene three years ago with an El Taco Loco food truck.
“We are Mexicans and my wife knows a lot of traditional Mexican recipes, so my wife and brother and I had the idea to get into the food business,” he said.
Since July 2019, El Taco Loco food truck has been a family-run business serving authentic Mexican dishes such as tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and tortillas, as well as chips, guacamole and salsa.
“We really try to bring the flavors we come back to in Mexico,” Dominguez said.
El Taco Loco will offer the same items as the food cart, according to Dominguez, who said he plans to continue using the van for events in the area.
Dominguez said he’s excited about the opening of El Taco Loco at 317 Main St. He sees it as an opportunity not only to grow the business, but to learn more about the food industry.
“We don’t have an exact date yet – we are still organizing everything and in the process of preparing the venue – but we hope to open it in the next two weeks,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dominguez said that updates of the restaurant’s grand opening will be posted on El Taco Loco’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
Another Danbury area food truck recently opened a storefront. Marcos and Leidimar Mendonca, owners of Cinnamon Churros – a food truck specializing in unique churros – have opened a cafe on Old Hawleyville Road in Bethel.