Luis Villalva has wanted to open a mezcal bar for years. This desire extends back long before he opened his lovable Fitzhugh Avenue taqueria, El Come Taco, in 2013. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time, before any of the other mezcal places opened in Dallas.”
Las Almas Rotas, Dallas’ first mezcaleria, opened in Expo Park about a year ago, followed by Santos y Pecadores, located in the back room of Uptown’s Bowen House. Most recently, Ruins took over the old Luscher’s Red Hots space in Deep Ellum.
“It’s going to be very ‘speakeasy,'” Villalva says of the bar he’s planning to open next to his taqueria. “When people come over, they’re not going to even notice that it’s there. It’s going to be attached to El Come Taco.” The contract for the space is still pending but, according to Villalva, it will be “locked down in the next few days.”
What to expect: agave-focused cocktails, mezcal flights, and small bites inspired by Mexican street food. “We’re going to have the best quality Mexican spirits,” says Villalva. “There are so many things that haven’t come to the states yet.”
Villalva says he’s hoping to be operational by the end of August, and the bar will be open until 2 a.m. Tuesday through Sunday. As for a name? “That’s something we’re still discussing,” he says.
