{"id":109818,"date":"2026-01-23T14:49:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/109818\/"},"modified":"2026-01-23T14:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-23T14:49:11","slug":"after-a-decade-on-9th-avenue-tacuba-says-goodbye-to-hells-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/109818\/","title":{"rendered":"After a Decade on 9th Avenue, Tacuba Says Goodbye to Hell\u2019s Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hell\u2019s Kitchen will lose a margarita hotspot this Saturday, when Tacuba closes its doors after 10 years in the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\"TacubaSaffolding has stopped Tacuba from serving guests on the sidewalk or on an outdoor patio in the back of the restaurant.\u00a0Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

The popular Mexican cantina, located on 9th Avenue between W53rd and W54th Streets announced its imminent closed on social media. \u201cServing our community has been an honor, and we are deeply grateful for every visit and every memory shared with us,\u201d the restaurant\u2019s message read. \u201cHell\u2019s Kitchen will always have a place in our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The restaurant kept its doors open during the pandemic, using every inch of outdoor space at the restaurant and in front of the adjacent MTA parking lot, and was a key hangout during those times. They were one of the local places that received RRF Funds<\/a> \u2014 in their case, nearly $2m.<\/p>\n

Since mid-2024, however, Tacuba has been shrouded in scaffolding as a new apartment building rises<\/a> next door. This has significantly affected business, said manager Isabel Escobar, as the scaffolding prevents the restaurant from serving guests on the sidewalk or on an outdoor patio in the back of the restaurant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shortly after construction on the apartment complex began, Tacuba applied for an extension on its liquor license from midnight to 4am, aiming to transform into a 24-hour diner. However, Manhattan Community Board 4 voted 38-1 to deny the application. The board was swayed by local residents, who voiced concerns that late night service would \u201cunreasonably increase late night noise\u201d on the block.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Tacuba\"Tacuba is closing after 10 years on 9th Avenue between W53rd and W54th Streets. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n

The board noted that Tacuba had not complied with an agreement to keep its doors and windows closed when playing loud music, and that this disturbance would be amplified in the quiet morning hours. Co-owner Louis Skibar stressed that the restaurant would only play background music, with no amplification.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a need in the neighborhood for a place to go at 1am or 2am,\u201d Skibar said in an April 2024 testimony to MCB4\u2019s Business License and Permits Committee.<\/p>\n

Skibar opened Tacuba in 2016 with Mexico City-born chef Julian Medina, who also owns Mexican restaurants in the Upper West Side, Washington Heights, LaGuardia Airport and the Hamptons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over the years, Tacuba was frequently listed by Hell\u2019s Kitchen residents<\/a> as one of their favorite neighborhood spots in W42ST\u2019s West Side Stories series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is my go-to, home away from home restaurant,\u201d said Jeff Karliner in a 2024 spotlight<\/a>. \u201cDuring the past several years we have gone religiously for brunch to experience their hospitality\u2026we have eaten fabulous foods and drank more chef\u2019s margaritas than I would want to talk about.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tacuba\u2019s margarita and mezcalita selection was frequently raved about by locals. \u201cPina Para La Nina is my favorite margarita in Hell\u2019s Kitchen (heck, the City) and I\u2019ve tried a lot of them,\u201d said Julia Zamorska.<\/p>\n

The popularity of the margaritas can be attributed to the fresh-squeezed juices that go into them, revealed Escobar. \u201cEverything is fresh \u2014 everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Charlie<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nHell\u2019s Kitchen residents Charlie Serotoff and Jeff Karliner listed Tacuba among their favorite Hell\u2019s Kitchen places in their West Side Stories. Photos: Lucas Brito and Catie Savage<\/p>\n

The nachos were the next most buzzed about item among our readers. \u201cMy absolute favorite Sunday afternoon activity in the summer is posting up outside Tacuba, going to town on the steak nachos, sipping a frozen strawberry margarita and hanging with my friends while we people-watch on Queens Boulevard aka 9th Avenue,\u201d said Charlie Serotoff in his 2025 profile<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Escobar said she and her team are sad to leave Hell\u2019s Kitchen. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna miss the customers; we\u2019re gonna miss the community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a nice area, and we were right on the corner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TacubaThere\u2019s still time to say goodbye to the Tacuba team \u2014 the restaurant will be open until Saturday, January 24. Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

While Tacuba\u2019s closure is a true loss for Hell\u2019s Kitchen, we are lucky to be in a neighborhood packed with Mexican restaurants. Almost 20 options \u2014 as well as the burrito truck on 9th Avenue and W49th Street \u2014 remain open for local guac and chips enthusiasts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tacuba, located at 802 9th Avenue, closes its doors on January 24 \u2014 so there is still time to grab one last margarita or plate of nachos while you can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hell\u2019s Kitchen will lose a margarita hotspot this Saturday, when Tacuba closes its doors after 10 years in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63,15679],"class_list":["post-109818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-whats-closing-and-closed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/109819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}