Taco News
El Fenix honcho launches new Mexican restaurant concept in Fort Worth
A new Mexican restaurant concept, with tacos and more, is coming to Fort Worth from Mike Karns, owner of El Fenix, Meso Maya, and Taqueria La Ventana. With a working title of Tortaco, it will open at 910 Currie St., in the space previously occupied by the Fixi Shop.
Karns was not available for comment, but a staffer familiar with the project said that it would be a new concept entirely different from any of Karns' other restaurants, with a hybrid mode of service. "It'll be self-serve during the daytime, and full-service for dinner," the staffer said.
The menu will be a step up from Taqueria La Ventana, with tacos and more.
Karns has bagged a dynamite location in the thick of the West Seventh District, directly across the street from Fred's Texas Cafe, behind Dude, Sweet Chocolate and behind Waters, Jon Bonnell's seafood restaurant, and next-door to Steel City Pops.
The former Fixi Shop is a charming building built in 1955 with a Googie-esque sloping roof. It's unique in that it's a stand-alone building; a representative from the realtor said that Karns bought it outright. "He wanted to own the location," she said.
Construction is already underway, with most of the interior gutted, but the exterior is being saved.
Karns opened the first Taqueria La Ventana in 2012, followed by a branch in Addison which opened in May 2015. A third Taqueria La Ventana is slated to open at the Dallas Farmers Market. Karns also owns the Snuffer's burger chain, which he acquired in 2014.
