by Andrew Morrison | The new location of La Taqueria at 586 Hornby Street (formerly a Steamrollers outlet) is going through the last part of its build and should be open to the public next week. I checked it out a couple of days ago at the tail end of one of its inspections. The paper was still on the windows and the concrete floor was freshly mopped, but the restaurant’s construction appears to have come along nicely. Here’s what I wrote about it back in February.

The 3,000+ sqft location was secured by Marcelo Romero and Alfonso Sanz on February 1st. Their plan is to turn the large space into a licensed lunch and dinner taqueria before the end of April. I took a look inside the space with Marcelo a few days ago and was shown around. He pointed out how the room would be dominated by an open kitchen counter and anchored on one side by a large communal table, adding that the frontage would see a line of picnic tables set in the front window hollows (five in all). Marcelo confirmed that the look will follow La Taqueria’s recognizably bright aesthetic, explaining that the fundamental differences between this location and the four others (Cambie, North Van, Hastings, Victoria) would be size (90 seats here) the addition of Sonora-style burritos to the menu. We can also expect a range of local craft beers on tap and bottled Mexican beer, as well as margaritas.

The colour scheme, wall taps (tacos can get messy), concrete floors, cinder block walls and simple, utilitarian layout reminded me of a typical small town mercado in Mexico. I imagine it will look pretty cool once the light floods in and the room fills with people – presumably a real mix of the financial district and downtown (everything from power suits and office workers to mall rats and tourists) – all up for its egalitarian counter-service and open concept communal dining experience. I can’t wait to see how it looks during the full stride of its lunch rushes. I expect it will be loud and lively and smelling all kinds of good. Take a sneak peek below…

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