A Dallas family-owned taqueria chain has opened a location at a historic Deep Ellum address: Taquería El Arquito, known for its trompo tacos and customer-friendly hours, has opened an outlet at 3400 Commerce St., in the space previously occupied by Thunderbird Station, which closed in 2023.

Taqueria El Arquito opened in late June. It's a family venture from siblings Analí, Nancy, Martha, and Victor Hugo Reza, working with chefs Juan Diego Gutierrez and José Angel Avila, to recreate family recipes — particularly for their tacos de trompo, with a goal to spotlight their Mexican heritage by serving a strictly authentic rendition.

They keep long hours, opening early at 6 am Monday-Saturday and 7 am on Sunday, spotlighting the key meal: breakfast, with classics like a breakfast taco with eggs and mozzarella cheese on a flour tortilla, with choice of bacon, beans, house-made chorizo, ham, potatoes, or sausage, for $2.89. They also do a breakfast sandwich and breakfast burrito, plus generous $10.39 plates such as migas, huevos rancheros, and chilaquiles.

They're open for lunch and dinner with their bestselling trompo tacos, plus hefty torta sandwiches, in four "global" varieties that include Milanesa (beef with mozzarella cheese), Cubana (beef, trompo meat, salchicha, ham, American cheese, and mozzarella cheese), and Hawaiian, a clever twist on pastor with trompo meat, ham, and pineapple. Torta prices range from $12 to $14.

They also have tamales and menudo on weekends, plus horchata, aguas frescas, and churros and elote for dessert.

“We love to prepare the food with love — we call it magic flavors," Analí says. "We’re known for our tacos but we also have burritos, tortas, burgers, chilaquiles, breakfast, and refreshing agua fresca. Don’t even think about skipping the horchata here."

They founded the concept — named for the many arcs in their hometown Taxco, Mexico — during the pandemic, opening their first location in a convenience store at 1909 S. Cesar Chavez Blvd. in 2020. They've expanded quickly, opening eight other locations, primarily in gas stations across DFW from Royse City to Dallas to Haltom City to Fort Worth.

They put themselves on the map after opening a location at The Corner in Preston Center in 2024 — one of the few not located in a gas station.

  Former Gulf station at 3400 Commerce St. Courtesy photo 

The Deep Ellum location is special for a couple of reasons. Like Preston Center, it is not a gas station offshoot but is on its own, and it will be the first in the chain to serve alcohol. They've applied for a license which is pending.

"We'll have some alcohol two frozen margaritas with a wine base, plus Michelada, Pulque, and three to four beers," Anali says.

But there's also the synchronicity of the building itself. While it is not a restaurant-in-a-gas-station like most of their other locations, the building itself is a former gas station, and one with a venerable history: the former Gulf station at the corner of Canton Street that was built in 1957, and operated for decades as Riegel's Gulf Service. In a neighborhood being mowed down by developers, it's an exemplary example of preserving the heritage via re-use. The space boasts indoor seating and comes with an expansive outdoor patio.