Taco Naco’s second location is set to make your Taco Tuesday decision tougher

Taco Naco. // Photo by Zach Bauman

Kansas City has a veritable treasure trove of tasty taco joints. Whether you’re craving classic, recognizable flavors like barbacoa or al pastor, or you’re an adventurous eater on the hunt for lengua or buche, a dozen people will tell you a dozen different places to find their favorites. If you want to step off the KCK Taco Trail, we recommend giving Taco Naco a try. Soon, that will be easier than ever—they’re opening a second location in Westport within the next few months.

Taco Naco’s original location can be found in downtown Overland Park, at 8220 Metcalf Avenue. It’s the perfect headquarters to sling tacos and breakfast burritos at the Overland Park Farmers’ Market, where they’ve cultivated a fervent fan base. Their new location, set to open later this summer, is in the old Port Fonda location in Westport, at 4141 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Photo by Zach Bauman

Taco Naco is the brainchild of the husband-wife duo of Brian Goldman Ruiz, co-owner and director of branding & strategy, and Fernanda Reyes, co-owner, executive chef, and director of operations. Also helping to run the show are David Lee, the GM of the Overland Park location, and Jonathan DeLisle, who manages the restaurant’s farmers’ market operation.

Ruiz says the restaurant, in its current form, actually began as a graduate school project where he and his fellow students were tasked with coming up with a beginning-to-end business plan.

“Figuring my classmates would not be interested in real estate pro formas, I turned to my wife Fernanda, and I asked if she would be interested in assisting me with her restaurant knowledge and experience in drafting a catering and food truck business plan,” Ruiz says. The assignment must have gone over well: the couple decided to run with it, and Taco Naco was born.

Unfortunately, Taco Naco was born at the start of the COVID pandemic, and they had to quickly pivot into selling packaged salsas, dips, margarita mixes, and taco kits. Luckily, they survived through the early stages of the pandemic, and the pivot helped add another layer to Taco Naco. Now, it serves as a combination restaurant and market, where diners can pick up a combo of imported goods and locally-made specialties.

Photo by Zach Bauman

Both locations will share the same restaurant and bar menu, though there may be some slight deviations as things move forward. On the food side of things, we’ve got a few recommendations. Taco Naco’s quesabirria tacos are dynamite—not only is the combo of slow-cooked barbacoa, cilantro, and onion perfectly balanced and delectable but they’re served with a consommé with a tremendous depth of flavor. Other faves are their chicken al pastor tacos and cochinita pibil tacos. Their breakfast burritos are a major fan favorite, too, as they sell out almost weekly at the OP Farmers’ Market.

Taco Naco’s cocktail game is no joke, either. Their classic margaritas definitely compete with some of the best standard margs in town. Ruiz also recommends the Spicy Pineapple Fuego Margarita if you like a little heat with your beverage. Outside of margaritas, you’ll also find delicious palomas and micheladas at the bar, along with NA options like agua fresca and Mexican soda. There are plenty of options to wash down your tacos.

On the market side of Taco Naco, there are dozens of products, from standards to outside-the-box, to help you bring the tastes of Mexico home. The team makes plenty of them at Taco Naco—many of the products that kept them afloat in the early days of the pandemic are still pulling their weight. They also carry items from local vendors like Yoli Tortilleria, Zen Donkey Farms, Mythos Hot Sauce, Dipp-iT Salsa, and many more.

Ruiz says the market portion of Taco Naco’s Westport location will be a bit smaller than the OP location, as they’ll be focusing more on the bar portion of the restaurant. The Westport location will also occasionally feature DJs and live music, along with patio seating, weekday happy hour from 3-6 p.m., and, of course, Taco Tuesday specials. It definitely sounds like there will be more of a party atmosphere—just what you’d expect from a Westport spot.

Photo by Zach Bauman

Ruiz says he can’t wait to team up with the amazing restaurant scene in Westport, and he has strong ties to the neighborhood; his grandfather had an allergist practice in Westport for many years, and Ruiz has fond memories of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Westport Art Fair and family meals at McCoy’s.

There’s no exact opening date for Taco Naco’s new location, as the co-owners want to ensure they’ve assembled the right team before opening their doors. Ruiz says they want “a great team, passionate about well-crafted products and above-and-beyond customer experience.” If you want to do everyone a favor, consider joining the team. You might land a sweet gig, plus you’ll help them open faster: that’s a win-win for all of us. In the meantime, they will have their food truck parked at the new location to help supply tacos to hungry visitors and denizens of Westport.

If you haven’t ventured out south of 75th Street in a few years, you probably haven’t had a chance to try Taco Naco yet. The new location will help you rectify that, but you should certainly take a taco pilgrimage to their OP location if you haven’t. We think you’ll be impressed.

Taco Naco’s original location is located at 8220 Metcalf Ave, Overland Park, KS 66204, and their new location will be located at 4141 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO 64111. They are open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.