This spring, we brought you the
news that Sean Harrington was redeveloping a space in his
Iodent Building for Hot Taco, a fast-casual eatery with limited sit-down space. Harrington reports the space is 90 percent built-out, and banking on an October opening. The taqueria has narrowed its focus to a specific genre of tortilla-wrapped cuisine, including plenty of vegetarian options.
"We are doing kind of more Baja Peninsula tacos; we're not competing against the taco truck," Harrington says. "We're doing a blackened shrimp combo with pineapple chutney, for example. These are going to be radical tacos; these are going to be tacos dreamt up by expatriate surfers living on the Baja peninsula."
If that's a tall taco order, the space will reflect Harrington's outside-the-shell vision. Think red, black and stainless steel walls, saddle seats made out of skateboards, and a short bar for dine-in seating. "We will have funky Mexican posters, funky lighting, funky table bases. It goes along with the radical tacos, it’s a radical look."
Harrington says he'll also offer coffee and rotisserie chickens to-go, serving a neighborhood he says is increasingly filled with young professionals.
"We live in a neighborhood with a lot of single people; it's a nice thing to have in your fridge," he says. The rotisserie chicken will also supply much of the taco meat. "I think the rotisserie chicken will be the flavor-bomb," Harrington says.
Hot Taco is now hiring. Take your resume (write "Hot Taco" on it) to the
Town Pump Tavern at 100 W. Montcalm. And check back to Hot Taco's
website soon for the menu and more.
Source: Sean Harrington, owner, Hot Taco
Writer: Ashley C. Woods
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