Where to eat: Meet Miracle Mile, the Phoenix historic district primed to be your next dining destination Why rising construction costs forced a change of plans Holguin got a semifinalist nod for the James Beard Awards' Best Chef - Southwest category for her work at the now-closed Roland’s Cafe Market Bar.īut as the business grew and the couple saw friends lose their spaces, they saw owning their own building as a way to secure their future. In 2019 Tacos Chiwas expanded to a second location in Chandler.
Then-Phoenix dining critics Dominic Armato and Patricia Escárcega gave the newcomer standout reviews and the following year, Guy Fieri gave the restaurant a boost on his Food Network series "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Tacos Chiwas came onto Phoenix's dining scene as small, counter-serve restaurant offering a tight menu of Chihuahua-style street food, such as beef cheek barbacoa tacos and gorditas deshebradas rojas - pillowy and thick flour tortilla pockets stuffed with red chile shredded beef, potato and beans.Ĭustomers also became fans of the restaurant's retro building, which has a distinctive split-gable roof with brown shingles, remnants of its former days as a Dairy Queen. How a Phoenix taco shop earned national recognition Now both the restaurant owners and McDowell Street developers are moving forward with new plans.
In 2016, husband-and-wife team Armando Hernandez and Nadia Holguin opened Tacos Chiwas in a former Dairy Queen located on a stretch of McDowell Road nicknamed Miracle Mile.Īs Tacos Chiwas outgrew its location, the restaurant owners worked with local developers in hopes of building a new, bigger restaurant near the southeast corner of 19th Street and McDowell Road.īut rising costs meant the couple couldn't fulfill their desire to stay in the neighborhood. The doors to the original Phoenix location of Tacos Chiwas will close for good this year as the popular taqueria relocates to a new spot on Indian School Road. The new Indian School Road location is scheduled to open May 11. Update: Tacos Chiwas announced the original McDowell Road location will have its last day May 9. View Gallery: Photos: Rajas gorditas at Tacos Chiwas, your new favorite comfort food