Beloved Miami taqueria reopens inside its own tortilla factory

A longtime Miami taqueria has reopened inside its own Little River tortilla factory, serving freshly ground corn flour tacos.

Beloved Miami taqueria Taquiza has reopened inside its own Little River tortilla factory, serving organic corn masa tacos and tortilla chips.

Photo by Cleveland Jennings

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After a very short relocation period, Taquiza is back, and this time the taquería is in the same building where it makes its actual tortillas. Less than three weeks after its final day on Ocean Terrace, Steve Santana’s 12-year-old, Michelin Guide-recommended taco spot reopened last week at 8246 NE Second Ave. in Little River.

The new counter-service spot sits inside the commissary and tortilla factory that has supplied Taquiza’s restaurants and wholesale clients for more than three years.

In Little River, they switched to stone-ground yellow corn, while the forever popular totopos remain heirloom blue.

Photo by Cleveland Jennings

Yellow tacos, blue chips

The biggest change on the menu is the tortilla itself. Taquiza has long served its tacos on blue corn. In Little River, they switched to stone-ground yellow corn, while the forever popular totopos remain heirloom blue. Tacos now come in pairs with a choice of two or three house salsas, think salsa taquero, salsa cremosa, and chile de árbol.

The carnitas taco features slow-braised pork, orange, and cinnamon, while the crispy fish uses masa-fried cod, cabbage, and salsa tatemada. The rajas taco comes with charred poblano peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cilantro-jalapeño crema.

The restaurant also says the menu is entirely gluten-free and seed oil-free, and the kitchen uses organic Fera fruit oil instead.

Taquiza uses Celorio equipment imported from Mexico to turn organic, non-GMO corn into masa

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Making their own corn masa

Inside, the counter faces the working fábrica de tortillas, where the team uses Celorio equipment imported from Mexico to turn organic, non-GMO corn into masa and tortillas throughout the day.

“Making our own masa was the whole reason for opening Taquiza,” Santana said in a press release. “In South Beach, that work happened right behind the counter. Little River puts it back at the center of the restaurant and gives us room to do it at a scale we never could before.”

Customers can also take home fresh masa by the pound, tortillas by the dozen, and bags of heirloom yellow corn chips. Drinks include beer and wine, house-made Jamaica and horchata Yucateca, sodas, and zero-proof choices.

Steve Santana opened the original walk-up counter on Collins Avenue in 2014

Fourth address in 12 years

Taquiza has moved often in its 12-year run. Santana opened the original walk-up counter on Collins Avenue in 2014, nixtamalizing corn behind the counter when making masa from scratch wasn’t something Miami taco shops did. He opened the North Beach location at 7450 Ocean Terrace in April 2018 as a temporary pop-up.

The original South Beach stand closed in 2018 after its landlord’s business failed. Taquiza then returned to South Beach later that year at the Rock Hostel, 1351 Collins Avenue, and remained there until 2023.

Ironically enough, the pop-up in North Beach outlasted them all. The “temporary” pop-up ran for eight years, earned a Michelin Guide recommendation, and won New Times’ Best Tacos in 2020 before serving its last tacos on July 31, 2026, to make way for the Ocean Terrace redevelopment.

The Little River location runs as a fast-casual, counter-service operation. Customers can order at the counter or through taquizatacos.com for pickup or delivery.

Taquiza. 8246 NE Second Ave., Miami; taquizatacos.com.

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A fourth-generation Miamian, Olee Fowler knows every corner of the city. She spent a decade as the editor of Eater Miami, and now as a freelance writer, she captures the stories that make Miami unique. When she’s not exploring Miami’s newest restaurants and bars, you can find her at home with her dogs, Foster and Peanut, or cheering on her beloved Florida Gators. And yes, that’s probably a Coke Zero on her desk.

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