Sweetwater Tavern, Randy’s Prime Seafood & Steaks, Patsy’s American. Great American Restaurants is the company behind many of NoVA’s favorite places to dine. But its latest debut has been quiet. The first Taqueria Loca opened in Sterling at the end of April, and on June 2, another location in Vienna opened its doors.
“The keys to the location were actually handed over to us in the midst of this pandemic,” said GAR CEO Jon Norton in an email. “Due to the timing, we anticipated there would be difficulty in renting the property. So we instead quickly came to see it as an opportunity to open a Mexican restaurant of our own and offer additional employment opportunities to our team.”
The Vienna Taqueria Loca is a ghost kitchen, which means that the cooks operate without a real restaurant at which guests can dine. Food is available as takeout and delivery, but customers are not served onsite. More Taqueria Locas are already in the works—one will be based in the group’s Fairfax Corner R&D kitchen, which once again, is not open to the public. Diners can order on the GAR app.
Chef Ascary Rivera is responsible for the taco menu. They’re available stuffed with meats including chicken tinga, carnitas and barbacoa. Families can also pick up a whole chicken with salsa and chips, rice and beans, and “churros,” actually Ozzie’s famous rolls reimagined with cinnamon sugar and chocolate dipping sauce.
Soon though, Taqueria Loca will exist for diners beyond their dining rooms. Norton says that his team is setting up a patio and beer garden in the valet area of Coastal Flats in Tysons Corners. // 45990 Waterview Plaza, Sterling and 8051 Leesburg Pike, Tysons
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