A family-owned taqueria that started out as a food truck has found a permanent home in a storefront in north Fort Worth. Called Añejo Taqueria, it opened in March at 7355 N. Beach St. #161, at Basswood Boulevard, taking over a space that was previously Hangout Tacos.

Anejo is open for lunch and dinner, and breakfast on weekends, with a menu of street tacos, "gringa" tacos, brisket tacos, tortas, burritos, and quesadillas. But their big specialties include

• birria, the stewed meat that became a trend in 2020, which they serve in a taco, burrito, torta, quesadilla, or ramen
• papas, AKA potatoes, to which they devote an entire menu category with papas frites, AKA French fries, available solo, topped with chili & queso, or loaded with meat, cheese, and jalapenos; and papa rellena, a loaded baked potato with choice of meat plus sour cream, butter, and tortilla chips.

Prices run from $10 to $13 with the most expensive item being the birria ramen at $14.

They're also known for their weekend brunch featuring breakfast tacos and burritos, served on Saturdays and Sundays, with everything, even the chorizo, made in-house.

Anejo is from Hector and Angie Marioni, who comes from a restaurant family - his family owned restaurants in Haltom City including a place called Oscar's Mexican Restaurant, and he's passionate about good food and service to match.

"I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico but raised in Fort Worth," he says. "I grew up in a family of nine, I was the youngest, helping my mother make burritos in the kitchen when I was 10 years old, learning her dishes and recipes."

He used those recipes as the basis for Añejo Taqueria, starting out as a food truck at stops like Truck Yard Alliance, the park at 3101 Prairie Vista Dr. where they still have a daily residency, then opened a stand inside a convenience store, where they built an even bigger following in the community.

When the convenience store closed in 2023, Marioni was tipped off to the location at Beach Street.

"The landlord had a few people trying to get the space, but she could see that we had a good following in the community," he says. "Every day, I look back and see what I have, and it's all due to the community and my customers."

He and his wife left their day jobs in the medical field and are dedicated to the idea of making others happy with good food.

"We serve authentic Mexican food, featuring recipes from different regions," he says. "Birria, the dish from Jalisco, is our top seller. It was originally created using goat, and a lot of places use beef, but we use a combination of beef and lamb that sets us apart."

Their tortas are also a big seller, incorporating different ingredients like chihuahua cheese and pastor. And they do dishes you don't see on many menus such as their pirata.

"Pirata is almost like a quesadilla," he says. "It has steak and white cheese, you let it melt, then add slices of avocado and sprinkle onions and cilantro. And our specialty at breakfast is definitely chorizo, I make my own in-house and serve it with papas or eggs."

Right now they're now in the process of getting a liquor license so they can serve margaritas and other drinks.

Without even being asked, Marioni offers his explanation of the name, for which he has so much pride. "Anejo" means "aged to perfection," he says.

"Anejo, most people think 'tequila,' and when it first came out, it referred to meat," he says. "In the 1900's, there was no refrigeration, so you aged meat a certain way to make it last. But I look at my history: Since I was 10 years old, I've been cooking. My sister said, 'It's a perfect name for you.'"