Taco News

Urban Taco closes at Dallas' Mockingbird Station, but the tacos live on

Tacos from Urban Taco.

dallas.culturemap.com

A trailblazing taqueria concept has shuttered its last brick-and-mortar location: Urban Taco, a Mexico City-style restaurant concept founded in 2007, closed its location in Mockingbird Station in early March.

However, according to founder Markus Pineyro, the closure does not signify the end of Urban Taco. Instead, its menu will be available through Pineyro's newly launched digital food hall startup, Oomi Digital Kitchen.

Pineyro says that the shift reflects changes wrought by the pandemic in the way people are eating these days.

“Starting during the early months of the pandemic, and to date, we've been seeing our business model evolve and move more towards delivery and carry out," Pineyro says. "We've loved serving Dallas in person for last 16 years, but we see this as a way to bring Urban Taco to more diners through OOMI in this new chapter."

Urban Taco was a restaurant inspired by Pineyro's roots in Mexico, far ahead of the "taco revolution" and predating chains like Rusty Taco and Velvet Taco.

Originally from Mexico City, and a graduate of SMU, Pineyro went on to found Del Sur Restaurant Group in 2010, opening more restaurants including an Urban Taco on McKinney Avenue. In 2018, that was taken over by, and has been a location of, Velvet Taco ever since.

The year before, he relocated the Mockingbird Station restaurant to a bigger storefront in front of the Angelika Theater after the restaurant had reached the end of its original 10-year lease.

A spokesperson for Mockingbird Station says they are in talks with potential tenants for Urban Tacos's space, and will share news of a replacement in the coming months.

Pineyro founded Oomi, his digital food hall, at 3510 Ross Ave. in November 2022. It allows customers to order from multiple different restaurants from one place — including Earth Burger, the buzzy vegan concept from San Antonio, as well as Which Wich Superior Sandwiches, FlyRite chicken, and Bowlrito healthy bowls.

"The entire Urban Taco team is grateful to Dallas and Mockingbird Station for the amazing 16 years we were able to welcome people into their restaurant and hope that Dallas diners will follow us to our new outlet," Pineyro says.

tacos closings

Sudden shutdown

Eno's Pizza Tavern suddenly closes one of its 3 Dallas-area restaurants

Eno's Pizza Tavern/Facebook

Eno's closed its most recently opened location, at The Sound in Cypress Hill.

An iconic name in Dallas pizza is closing one of its restaurants: Eno's Pizza Tavern at Cypress Waters at The Sound announced on social media that its last day was Sunday, November 1.

The closure of this Eno's in Coppell — which opened in 2019 — came as a surprise to customers, judging by the reaction on social media. Several Facebook and Instagram users expressed shock, saying they had just been there and couldn't believe the news. As one commenter put it, "Nooooooo."

As recently as Halloween, the restaurant hosted a costume contest and pizza giveaways — those gift cards can be used at the other two locations.

The notice, posted on Facebook and Instagram, read:

"A note from our table to yours. Eno's Cypress Waters served its final guests on Sunday, November 1. Thank you for the birthdays, date nights, game days, and weeknight pizzas you shared with us there. It was an honor to be your neighborhood spot. Eno's is still here for you at Bishop Arts and Forney, and your Cypress Waters gift cards and loyalty points are good at every Eno's location."

Eno's opened its original restaurant in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas in 2008. The pizzeria developed a following for its thin-crust pizzas and pioneering selection of craft beer. Signature pies include the Pig Smiley with Benton's ham, Eno's sausage, honey, and pepperoni; and The Original with tomatoes, garlic mushrooms, Genoa salami, and sport peppers.

The restaurant was one of the first businesses to open in Bishop Arts, which over the next decade began booming, and now bursts at the seams with all manner of eateries, coffee shops, bars, and boutiques.

The restaurant expanded beyond Oak Cliff in 2017, opening a second location in downtown Forney. That restaurant serves the familiar pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches, along with appetizers, salads, soups, desserts, and a daily lunch special.

The Cypress Waters restaurant came two years , bringing Eno's to The Sound, a lakeside entertainment and dining destination. Its location featured an 1,800-square-foot rooftop patio overlooking the water. The Sound's official Instagram account responded to the closure announcement: "Thank you for being a part of our community at The Sound. The Cypress Waters Eno’s storefront will be missed."

Partnerships with local organizations and independent businesses have also been part of Eno's history. The restaurant was an early supporter of North Texas craft beer, established Brew Riot, a Dallas-area homebrew competition, and partnered with a local elementary school on the iBike Rosemont initiative to encourage students to stay active. It has also been involved with the Bishop Arts District Merchants Association and VisitDallas.

With Cypress Waters now closed, Eno's continues to operate its original restaurant at 407 N. Bishop Ave. in Bishop Arts, Dallas, and in Forney, at 215 S. Bois D'Arc St.

CultureMap has reached out to Eno's for further comment and will update this story if more details become available.

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