Tulum Tacos & Tequila, which plans to open its third Long Island restaurant this month, has opened a bar pop-up ahead of the opening of the eatery at The Boardwalk in Long Beach. 

The chain’s Long Beach restaurant, called Hacienda Tulum, is expected to open in the next couple of weeks in a 5,800-square-foot space as part of the 14,700-square-foot retail portion of B2K Development’s The Breeze, the 10-story, 238-unit apartment building at 180 Boardwalk and 192 condominium residences in two nine-story towers called The Boardwalk. 

Part of the dining area at Hacienda Tulum in Long Beach. / Courtesy of Hacienda Tulum

The Hacienda Tulum in Long Beach will be the Tulum chain’s third Long Island restaurant, following others in Mineola and Baldwin. Its Long Beach pop-up, which offers an early taste of Hacienda Tulum’s food and beverage program, will continue until the 200-seat Hacienda Tulum opens around mid-September, according to a company statement. 

For owners and longtime friends Nicolas Geeraerts and Tommy Mitsios, the opportunity to open directly on the water was a major factor in choosing Long Beach for the brand’s third location. Geeraerts, who brings decades of restaurant experience after working with such hospitality standouts as Patina Group, Jean-Georges, Todd English, Delmonico’s Restaurant Group, and JF Restaurants, said the Long Beach community is amazing. 

“It’s a whole different level than anywhere else,” Geeraerts said in the statement. “I get goosebumps just thinking about it. For us to be a part of it, I’m super excited.” 

Hacienda Tulum, which will serve lunch, brunch, and dinner year-round, will have indoor and outdoor seating overlooking the ocean, as well as a 24-seat private dining room. Guests will also have access to a private 100-space parking garage with an elevator providing direct access to the restaurant, along with planned valet service.  

Tulum is the largest commercial tenant to take space at B2K’s Long Beach development. It joins the 2,350-square-foot Mount Sinai South Nassau walk-in primary care clinic; the 2,150-square-foot Surf Haus, with spa services that include saunas, a cryo-chamber and IV drips; the 2,100-square-foot YogaSix studio; the 1,190-square-foot Barrier Beets salad and sandwich wrap shop; and a 1,130-square-foot coffee shop. 

“When we first proposed development of The Breeze, and our adjacent luxury condominium, The Boardwalk, we also envisioned an exciting and unique array of retail properties that would welcome those walking the legendary Long Beach boardwalk,” David Burman, a B2K partner, said about the project’s commercial tenants. “With the arrival of Tulum Tacos & Tequilas’ new concept, and so many others, there is now an exciting and varied offering that fulfills that vision.”    

The $369 million Long Beach project from Jericho-based B2K and its partner Harrison Street Real Estate Capital has transformed the long-vacant 6-acre property known as the Superblock, which had a checkered history of blighted properties and failed development proposals. 

Greg Batista, Jason Sobel, and Michelle Abramov of RIPCO Real Estate represented Tulum, as well as the landlord, B2K Development, in the Long Beach lease transaction.