Cozy Oak Cliff restaurant Taco y Vino is taking its affordably priced food and wine and expanding to downtown Garland.
The second location for Taco y Vino is expected to open in August 2025, according to co-owner Jimmy Contreras. Construction crews have exposed the brick on the inside and outside of a 1920s-era building that will carry the same small, comfortable charm as the Oak Cliff original. They’re almost identical in size, too: 1,300 square feet there, 1,400 square feet here.
Contreras has considered expanding his 7-year-old restaurant since 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic squashed his original plan to take Taco y Vino to Carrollton. He set his sights more recently on downtown Garland, following the Dallas restaurateurs behind Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House, who opened pizza shop Fortunate Son nearby.
Garland city leaders and local restaurateurs “want to build this great community,” Contreras said of the revival of the downtown area. A $24 million revitalization project added a city park, event lawn, pavilion and improvements to the streets and sidewalks in the 14-block neighborhood.
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Contreras compares his first restaurant to the new one in Garland: “It’s like walking around Bishop Arts, but with better sidewalks.”
Chilaquiles Pibil are a brunch item at Taco y Vino in Dallas.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)
Contreras spent much of his career as a restaurant consultant for sizable chains like Pappas, the Texas company that operates Pappadeaux and Pappasito’s. When he struck out on his own, opening Taco y Vino with co-owner Brian White, Contreras said he wanted to be visible in his own restaurant.
“I’m a big fan of going to places where you see the owners,” he said.
Taco y Vino’s menu and wine list will remain relatively the same at the new Garland location. The date night package — six tacos and a bottle of wine for $50 — is one of its specialties. The Bishop Arts District restaurant is also known for brunch, and its signature chilaquiles and brisket con huevo will be available in Garland, too.
The restaurant replaces two former businesses, a barber shop and a tarot card den.
“I think it’s perfect,” he said.
Taco y Vino is expected to open at 706 Main St., Garland, in August 2025.