El Taco Rustico to open brick-and-mortar location at Oracle & Grant

Tohono O’odham Swap Meet taco stand El Taco Rustico announced plans to open a brick-and-mortar location at 2281 N. Oracle Rd., which previously housed Cafe Marcel.

“I wanted to do something better for my customers within the city,” said Juan Almanza, owner-chef of El Taco Rustico.

Almanza is currently waiting for the health inspection; the opening could be as soon as March.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is “just another Mexican restaurant opening in Tucson.” As someone who has, without exaggeration, eaten hundreds of tacos in the past year, this is the most exciting news I’ve heard in several weeks.

During my research for the article on the Tohono O’odham Swap Meet, I spent several weekends in a row visiting to eat from several different taco stands. Some weekends I visited twice. Each weekend included a stop to El Taco Rustico.

Now, I no longer have to wait until weekend mornings to enjoy some of my favorite tacos in Tucson. The weekend stand will still operate, by the way.

Tentative operating hours for the new location are 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. In addition to tacos and aguas frescas, the restaurant will also offer Mexican twists on classic American breakfast dishes such as pancakes and omelets.

Keep up with El Taco Rustico on Facebook.