A square brown box now shares the sidewalk with Hole in the Wall; not the most dazzling architecture, but still shiny in comparison to the classic dive bar’s faded, graffiti-laden green paint. The Moxy Hotel, Marriott’s millennial-focused boutique offshoot, has officially replaced the old Jack in the Box at 2552 Guadalupe Street, adding to the list of accommodations for young professionals and Longhorn parents looking to stay in the heart of Austin.
The jokes (or worse) write themselves about the Drag’s latest development. A “hip” corporation moving in next to one of the only institutions to survive the strip’s skyrocketing rent could seem like another nail in the coffin for our once-weird city. But, while not as cheap as the fallen fast food chain (which didn’t exactly scream personality in the first place), club patrons and scurrying students can still grab food on the 26th corner at Zombie Taco, the Moxy’s 24-hour lobby restaurant.
Following locations inside hotels in Chicago and Louisville, the Mexican counter carries a compact menu of quick bites. Nine tacos appear throughout the day, with specialties like chicken chorizo and egg whites and avocado elevating the breakfast offerings, and quinoa and cauliflower providing a vegetarian dinner option. A few burritos, nachos, and snacks round out the selection.
The food is tasty enough. The veggie taco has a kick, and the Walking Taco, the restaurant’s spin on Frito pie, is a Texan highlight, its chip bag presentation classed up with lime sour cream and pickled red onion. But Jack in the Box’s two-for-a-dollar taco deal is long gone. A filling meal at the hotel joint – say, a couple tacos and the Frito pie side – clocks in at around $15 before tax, and the hotel bar’s flashy cocktail menu seems more catered to older, well-off millennials than student Zoomers on a budget.
Despite the heavy-handed attempts at coolness ($10 W.A.P. drinks, anyone?), Moxy “Captain” Lynn Snyder seems confident that Zombie Taco has something for everyone. “People are just looking for something different,” she says, in a moment where delivery and fast-casual dining reigns supreme. The new addition offers variety to West Campus’ fast food lineup, especially in the wee hours, when most places have closed shop. And its contactless structure is a pandemic plus: Tablets outside the building allow customers to order and pay on their own, then pick up at the walk-up window minutes later.
Sandwiched between campus and blocks of Greek houses and student apartments, the counter’s grab-and-go system was also designed for the UT crowd. A 3pm “Thursdays After Class” happy hour and an all-day Monday sale for university faculty don’t hurt either.
And for those with time to spare, a walk through the Moxy lobby leads to an outdoor courtyard lush with greenery, fireplaces, and string lights. Snyder says students are encouraged to use the space to study during the day and hang out at night, similar to Space 24 Twenty a few blocks north.
Cabo Bob’s offers more bang for a college student’s buck, and a tucked away taco truck is no doubt more authentic. But Zombie Taco has a clear audience in mind. “You’re never gonna see me say that we’re the best taco you’ve ever had in your life,” Snyder says. “We’re not competing to be the No. 1 Taco. It was all about our location, we’re 24/7, we have a walk-up window that never closes.” And sometimes that’s enough.
This article appears in April 2 • 2021.
