Taco Lu coming to Murray Hill

[Jimmy]

All the back-and-forth aside, a new restaurant in the strip in Murray Hill is very welcome.  Especially one with a built-in base of support and a great reputation.

I'm actually glad this is going somewhere other than King Street.  Are they opening in the old 1171 space??

[Captain Zissou]

Another thing to add.  I recently hit up Perfect Rack for the first time and I really enjoyed it.  They have some nice pool tables, a big bar area, friendly staff, and plenty of of diversions for an adult to enjoy.  My main complaint was the smokers inside.  I found that extremely strange considering they serve food, however it wasn't bad enough to keep me from going back (but not for food).  I hope that Taco Lu will help this strip reach critical mass and continue to flourish.

[blizz01]

I'm so glad to hear all this excitement, but I'm sorry to say that this is not a done deal. We have a long way to go. We are very much looking forward to being a big part of the fun in Murray Hill, with such great neighbors as Moon River Pizza, the Alibi, Edgewood Bakery, Dreamette, the Crazy Egg! Murray Hill is a great neighborhood and I hope that we can be a part of it! Stay tuned to the TacoLu Facebook page and our website. I should post a journal about how difficult/expensive it is going through this process! Keep your fingers crossed out there!

http://www.facebook.com/TacoLu?ref=ts&sk=wall

[AntigoneStarr]

Mmm... the debates of the core - 5 Points Publix v Roosevelt Publix, Carmine's v Moon River, now TacoLu v Burrito Gallery.

I like them both for different reasons. Super stoked to get TacoLu (and Fionn's at the Landing) from the other side of the ditch.

[ben says]

Any updates on this project?

[mtraininjax]

I don't see them coming to Murray Hill, besides the one pizza place, the area there at the tracks is pretty dead. Nothing new has happened since the pool hall came in, and 1171 left. If you had money for a location, why not move to Avondale and one of the shops? A lot more people traffic in Avondale than in Murray Hill.

[thehill]

I don't see them coming to Murray Hill, besides the one pizza place, the area there at the tracks is pretty dead. Nothing new has happened since the pool hall came in, and 1171 left. If you had money for a location, why not move to Avondale and one of the shops? A lot more people traffic in Avondale than in Murray Hill.

Why would they need to spend the money on location when customers will come no matter what. Taco Lu at the beach isn't exactly in the most prime retail location. Spending more than 3x the cost of that building on place less than a mile away doesn't make sense.  Keep the overhead low and serve amazing food.

[mtraininjax]

Why would they need to spend the money on location when they will come no matter what.

Says who?

Why do people come to that area of Murray Hill? There is only 1 real draw for food, the pizza place. If that is your crowd, sure thing, setup shop there. The problem is that the Fat Kat hall has to go away, it does nothing to add anything to that space. Clean that up, maybe more people come there, but who would ever open up retail with the hope and prayer anyone would drive there?

When MM opens up this fall, it is going to crush it in Avondale. Nothing in Murray Hill offers outdoor seating either, unless you are talking about Gina's, almost to the interstate or Edgewood Bakery, or the Egg. There is just no space on the sidewalk for it.

If the Egg were in Avondale, wow, what a crowd, with the Fox on one side and the Egg on the other. I'd like to see another diner like restaurant in Avondale, would be great at the other end, down by Pulp.

[Tacachale]

It's a good location as it's got a high density of people within blocks of the commercial strip, plus it's easily accessible from Avondale and Riverside (and the rest of the core for that matter). There's still been little penetration by that kind of the thing in the area, and the rent is cheap. It's an area just waiting to take off.

[mtraininjax]

It's an area just waiting to take off.

I heard those same comments about Brooklyn a few years back. Lavilla before then, The Shipyard too. Come to think of it, that phrase gets a lot of use.

It's a good location as it's got a high density of people within blocks of the commercial strip,

1171 was a great location, the problem is the Fat Kat Music Hall, no one wants it there, and everything it becomes gets worse and worse. I remember the swingers nite that produced all kinds of out of town traffic. Great to bring new people to jax for swinging! Wholesome family fun, right in Murray Hill.

[cline]

It's an area just waiting to take off.

I heard those same comments about Brooklyn a few years back. Lavilla before then, The Shipyard too. Come to think of it, that phrase gets a lot of use.

As a neighborhood commercial district, Edgewood is way further along than those places.  Lavilla and The Shipyards are just vacant lots.  Not even comparable.

[mtraininjax]

Not even comparable.

Mark my words, I live less than a mile down the road from that area at the tracks and Mayflower, nothing will invest there until the Fat Kat is gone. Taco Lu is going to want a large area, so why don't they take out Fat Kat? 1171 does not offer outside seating, so that is shot. Unless they move down to Post and Edgewood, where there is more sidewalk, where exactly do you see them setting up shop in Murray Hill?

Everyone says they are coming to Murray Hill, but where, and why would they open up if there is no onstreet dining option, like they have at the beach? At least down the street at Mellow Mushroom, John is creating an outside beer garden with the gas station. There is nothing offering this in Murray Hill, except the Fat Kat.

So if they are indeed coming to Murray Hill, that would seem the logical choice, unless 1171 is the location with outside seating looking at the barber shop and eastward down Mayflower. Nice.

[iluvolives]

People will go to Murray Hill for a good product- neither Moonriver or Crazy Egg appear to have a shortage of customers. Usually there is a line out the door at Crazy Egg on a Sunday morning.

That being said the Taco Lu location at the beach was not a great spot before they opened there. There had been a ton of failed restuarants at that location that would open up and close within a year, plus there is a lack of parking and it's on a busy part of Beach that is hard to cross. None of those things have kept them from being wildly sucessful. If they open in Murray Hill I would expect a similar sucess.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Moon River seems to be doing just fine without outdoor seating. 

I guess having good food helps.

[ben says]

I see Monty's is trying to sell or $1.8 million. Too much, in my opinion, but I think a place like TacoLu's, who needs to liquor license and the preexisting kitchen, could pull it off.