Some of you may be familiar with La Carnita, either by being one of the lucky few who experienced the city’s first pop-up taco shop last July during its one-hour cameo or, more recently, when it hosted its UNO event at Evergreen Brick Works on April 13. Or perhaps you had the pleasure of experiencing the concept during one of its dozen or so other pop-ups around the city. For those that are still out of the loop, La Carnita is essentially a street food-style taco stand that carefully bypasses Toronto’s selling of food on the street laws to offer diners a unique take on “street meat.”
The concept has amassed a cult following and had crowds begging for a taste when only about half of the near 3000 that attended the UNO party gained entry to the event. La Carnita relies on social media to build buzz about upcoming events – nearly 4000 Twitter followers doesn’t hurt – and is now a highly coveted culinary delight. The only problem for eager patrons was that, understandably, La Carnita’s pop-ups were subject to capacity restrictions.
There is good news for taco lovers, at last. La Carnita owner Andrew Richmond has announced that he will indeed be bringing the street outside inside by opening a permanent home for the travelling food phenomenon at 501 College Street. Richmond is anticipating a June opening for the restaurant, which will occupy the space that was once Briscola. Considering the recent influx of Mexican restaurants in Toronto, we couldn’t think of a more opportune time to open up shop.
Stay up to date with La Carnita’s developments by following them on Twitter.
Photo courtesy La Carnita