Rim Crossing location opens today, followed by another near The Pearl March 22
DALLAS (March 8, 2021) Velvet Taco, the adventurous, one-of-a-kind taco restaurant serving up globally inspired tacos, opens its first San Antonio location at Rim Crossing at 5515 N. Loop 1604 W. today. A second location, near The Pearl at 103 W. Grayson Street, is planned for March 22.
The chef-inspired concept offers over 20 taco varieties on its adventurous, innovative menu, as well as creative sides and scratch-made red velvet cake, all created in-house with the finest, freshest ingredients – from slow-roasted rotisserie chicken to house-made pickles. The result is a new food category, featuring a range of diverse, international flavors such as the Cuban Pig, the Fried Paneer, the Spicy Tikka Chicken and the Fish ‘n Chips tacos, that is a marked departure from the Tex-Mex taco restaurants that are more familiar to most San Antonians.
“It’s a huge responsibility and honor to enter a market like San Antonio, where people know good tacos and have high expectations – yet we’re not a Tex-Mex place,” said Velvet Taco CEO Clay Dover. “At Velvet Taco, we take the tortilla as our vessel and layer the best possible ingredients and diverse flavors inside to create gourmet tacos for the adventurous, risk-taking foodie.”
Velvet Taco at Rim Crossing’s 2,500-square-foot dining room features bright and rustic furnishings with indoor seating for nearly50 and a covered patio that seats about 20. The lively, electric space, Velvet Taco’s 20th location in the nation, also features one-of-a-kind, hand-painted murals, including a street art-inspired “I Love San Antonio” mural. Guests who visit the Rim location can take advantage of the drive-up pickup window for orders placed in advance through the Velvet Taco app or website.
The restaurant’s approach to the Grayson Street location, in the former home of the legendary Taco Land underground music venue and restaurant, will be a bit different. Velvet Taco will respectfully preserve Taco Land’s famous hand-painted murals, and a new exterior art piece will pay tribute to Taco Land’s late owner, Ram Ayala, who opened the restaurant in 1965 and ran it until his untimely death in 2005.
“We want to honor and pay our respects to Ram, who served great food while nurturing the city’s alternative music scene as ‘The Patron Saint of Punk,’” said Velvet Taco General Manager Chris Phelps, a San Antonio native. “We aren’t trying to be Taco Land. We just want to give San Antonians great food while remembering a very special place they once loved. As someone who grew up in this city, I know how unique and diverse San Antonio is, and Velvet Taco reflects just that.”
As part of preserving what once was, Velvet Taco plans to dedicate the historic, iconic tree on the patio to Ayala and the original Taco Land with a memorial plaque designed by a local artist. The patio will also feature a walk-up pickup window where guests can order margaritas or beer.
About Velvet Taco
Founded in 2011, the Dallas, Texas-based concept set out to elevate the taco through globally inspired recipes and the freshest ingredients. The acclaimed restaurant provides a broad sampling of international tastes and inventive combinations, delivering flavors that are as memorable as they are delicious. In 2016, Velvet Taco was awarded Nation’s Restaurant News’ “Hot Concept,” and in 2020 it won Nation’s Restaurant News’ MenuMasters Award in the category of Best Limited Time Offer for its Weekly Taco Feature. Velvet Taco has locations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Fort Worth and Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Chicago; and Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information, including a complete menu, visit velvettaco.com and follow the brand on Facebook and Instagram @VelvetTaco.