Clarksville’s Zocalo Cafe Closes After Sale to Taco Flats Owner
Before summer remodel, new menu starts April 1
By Jessi Cape, 12:25PM, Fri. Mar. 29, 2019
Known for their “fresh modern Mexican” cuisine like rolled enchiladas, Zocalo Cafe’s West Lynn location is closed as of today, March 29, after 12 years in business.
Simon Madera, owner of North Lamer's Taco Flats, opened in 2014, bought the space and will begin serving his Mexico City-inspired tacos, beers, and cocktails for lunch on April 1, eventually closing the restaurant on July 1 for a two month renovation.
“I recognize Zocalo Cafe as a beloved neighborhood restaurant and I don’t want the community to lose that overnight,” says Madera. “I want to keep the restaurant operating while we finalize plans to bring our unique bar approach to this historic Clarksville Neighborhood.”
Zocalo Cafe owners Chris Courtney, Kelly Chappell, and Jay Bunda, reportedly sold the restaurant to focus on the expansion of Galaxy Cafe and Top Notch Hamburgers (expanding to Hutto’s Co-Op district on Hwy 79 in 2020). The three partners will be minority partners of Taco Flats Clarksville, and Zocalo Cafe is opening a new location at the Austin airport this fall.
“We love Zocalo, and are proud of what we've accomplished here, we just need to focus our efforts on the future of our company and pass the space along to a concept like Taco Flats,” says Chappell. “We believe that Simon will give the neighborhood what it wants.”
A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.
