Pinche Tacos Coming to Governor's Park, Expanding to Arizona

Tacos Tequila Whiskey, the (new-er and) official name for the business originally born as Pinche Tacos, is growing. Chef and owner Kevin Morrison will add one Denver outpost, for a total of three, to Governor's Park next summer. Before that, in the spring of 2017, the modern taqueria will spread its wings out-of-state for the first time to Phoenix, Arizona.

The future Denver outpost is over a year away and will emerge at 704 Sherman Street on a plot of land that is still a parking lot. The group behind the Moto Apartments, where Black Eye Coffee Cap Hill is housed, are in the process of developing that lot. For this location, Morrison will have Angela Beaty, currently on board at the York location, as managing partner. The food and beverage menu will mirror those at the other  two Denver neighborhood spots but there will be one or two tacos and cocktails unique to this location.

In Arizona, a 2000 square foot space plus patio, set at 3950 E Indian School Road (intersection of Indian School Rd and 40th Street), will be home to the first non-Colorado venture. Andres Bustamante, currently general manager at the original Pinche Tacos on York will move to Phoenix to serve as managing partner.

"We looked at 50 cities that offered similar demographics to Denver and nailed that list to 10," Morrison shared when asked about his process for deciding where to grow his business. "We reviewed the list of 10 and set stricter guidelines for our decision to cut the list to three cities. Given our wish list and guidelines, Phoenix was a no brainier. There are great demographics, James Beard nominated and winning chefs, great restaurant and bar scene and it's growing," he added.

The offerings will be very similar to those in Denver, but entree salads will be on the menu from day one and local produce will be a highlight.

"The great thing about us is, we are not a cookie cutter company. We are not a chain, each restaurant has its own personality and that will show in the food and beverage menus. Our managing partners will have their personality in their location. It might be a food item, beverage item, or design aspect," Morrison explained.

Expanding the taco empire isn't the only thing on Morrison's plate. This fall, he is launching Fish N' Beer in the RiNo neighborhood in collaboration with chef and partner Aniedra Nichols.