‘Guac, Tacos, Margs’: Taco Azul Opens on Beacon Hill in Fall 2024
Founder Dan Leyva hopes this is the first of many locations for the taco-focused Mexican restaurant.
Tacos, drinks, and guac with blue corn tortilla chips at Taco Azul. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
One day, Taco Azul will have locations in every corner of the northeast, if founder Dan Leyva has his way. Given that the Forbes “30 Under 30” alum spearheaded a massive overhaul of the Wings Over fast-casual wing chain, now with more than two dozen locations in nine states, the San Francisco native knows what it takes to build a successful restaurant group. But first things first: The inaugural Taco Azul, which will be located in the former Emory space on Beacon Hill, will debut early this fall. The full-service Mexican restaurant—tagline “Guac. Tacos. Margs.”—will offer a streamlined menu of tacos, quesadillas, a handful of sides, and drinks.
Taco Azul, Beacon Hill. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Built to be scalable, Taco Azul is “systems-driven,” not “chef-driven,” says Leyva, with consistency as the key. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have soul: Everything is made from scratch in-house, and Leyva, who’s been enthusiastically cooking since childhood, developed the recipes himself, aiming to create crowd-pleasers. There’s a birria taco, for example, that’s sure to be popular, featuring flavorful shredded beef brisket with citrus red onions and cilantro, or the vegetarian black bean and sweet potato taco with queso fresco and chipotle mayo. Leyva’s personal favorite is the skirt steak taco, topped with avocado crema and citrus red onions, which he has been working on for a long time “and really kickstarted this whole journey,” he says. He’s also passionate about the “smiling taco,” a rotating taco that’ll be decided on via partnerships with various celebrities and organizations, with 10% of the proceeds supporting local charities.
Taco Azul’s skirt steak taco. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Why “azul,” the Spanish word for blue? All of Taco Azul’s tacos and quesadillas are served on blue corn tortillas; the chips, served with guac or queso, are also blue corn. The restaurant is decorated with deep blue accents, and the oceanic logo is a whale’s tail. The name is also a nod to blue agave, from which tequila is distilled.
And yes, there’s tequila: Taco Azul features several margaritas (including a couple frozen options, available year-round), all made with Arette tequila from Jalisco. The restaurant also serves 400 Conejos mezcal from Oaxaca and showcases it in a smoky pineapple cocktail. Regarding only carrying those two brands, Leyva says, “As awesome as it would be to have 100 tequilas behind the bar, we can’t possibly be an expert at which ones are going to mix the best [for consistently good cocktails]. Our goal was to find the best brand of tequila and the best brand of mezcal [at the right price point] that we’re confident you’re going to love.” Plus, Taco Azul uses non-alcoholic spirit Seedlip Agave for a couple “mockaritas” and a refreshing watermelon drink.
Taco Azul’s margarita, Watermelon Sugar, and Smoky Pineapple cocktails. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
For Leyva, the first in his family to graduate high school and college, owning a business was always the goal. He didn’t initially know what kind of business, but his first job out of college (he went to Cornell’s acclaimed hospitality school) was at the Tacombi taqueria chain. It opened his eyes to the business potential of building a restaurant group centered on a small, focused menu.
Taco Azul, Beacon Hill. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Next, he got the opportunity to lead several already-established food companies, including Wings Over and Ithaca Hummus. “These were incredible opportunities to learn a ton, but it was never something that I got to truly start from scratch,” says Leyva, so he’s excited to build his own brand, Taco Azul, from the ground up. Boston and Tampa were top contenders as starter locations, lacking the competition a taco-focused restaurant would have on the West Coast or New York. Ultimately, Leyva came here as he felt he knew New England better, having spent a lot of time in the region in his previous jobs.
Taco Azul’s beef birria taco. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
Taco Azul is meant to fit in the middle between what Leyva sees as two main types of Mexican restaurants: “hole-in-the-wall types of authentic restaurants” with a limited menu of great food but an environment not necessarily conducive to a business lunch or date; and bigger restaurants that focus more on ambiance than quality, “with 10-page menus and sombreros on the walls.” Why not a Mexican restaurant with a great environment and a small menu that’s easy to execute consistently?
“It was always my mentality that you’re not going to be the best at everything,” says Leyva. “It’s not possible. So do a few things and do those things really, really well.” At Taco Azul, that means tacos, margaritas, and guacamole—and that’s about it.
Taco Azul’s margarita. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
As for the space, it’s designed to be “very clean, very modern,” says Leyva. “We wanted it to be comfortable for someone to come for business lunch, for date night, or with a stroller and kids. It’s really meant to be a family-friendly environment.” The building dates back to 1899, and Leyva kept a lot of the architectural and design features from older tenants, including stately crown moulding, an enormous mirror behind the bar, and glass block windows in the entryway. There’s a spacious patio out front, too.
Taco Azul, Beacon Hill. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal
With Taco Azul’s first location on the verge of opening on Beacon Hill, Leyva says he’s actively exploring spaces in Cambridge, Somerville, and out as far as Burlington for the second, aiming to build brand identity in Greater Boston before stretching farther out to cities like Springfield and Worcester—and ultimately throughout the northeast. Keep an eye on social media for an opening date for the first Taco Azul (late September or early October, estimates Leyva). Then swing by for a frozen margarita and some tacos, and stay tuned to see where Taco Azul springs up next.
Opening early fall, likely operating from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday to start. 21 Beacon St., Beacon Hill, Boston, tacoazul.com.
