By Kate Quesada
It can now be Taco Tuesday every day thanks to the opening of FishHawk’s newest restaurant.
Taco Yolo, a casual, full service Tex Mex style restaurant featuring a variety of fresh dishes, opened late last November in the Publix-anchored FishHawk Crossings Plaza.
The restaurant’s ownership group, comprised of Bloomingdale High School graduates Heath Hardin, Rob Wolfenden and Cliff Longshore, has a combined 30 years of restaurant experience including ownership in local Beef O Brady’s and Little Greek restaurants.
“Yolo stands for ‘You Only Live Once,’ which in our view means that life is too short to anything that is not fresh and clean,” said Hardin, who also owns HVH Consulting, a marketing and accounting consulting firm on Bloomingdale Ave.
Taco Yolo is a full service restaurant and bar with menu items formed around a desire to use fresh, healthy proteins and produce. In addition to its rustic themed indoor area, the restaurant also offers patio seating.
“We have been working on this business model for years,” said Wolfenden, who lives in FishHawk and knew he wanted to find a restaurant location close to home. “We feel that table service and quality of food fills a void in the area and we know that everyone loves tacos.”
The menu is set up so guests can pick their favorite protein and then decide if they want it in a taco, burrito, quesadilla, enchilada, bowl or salad. Protein choices are ground beef, fajita steak, ground chicken, fajita chicken and carnita (pulled pork). Entrees also come with a wide variety of different toppings from jalapeños to refried beans and sides include Mexican street corn and black beans and rice.
A new specials menu was released recently, and will change periodically, but currently includes Cancun shrimp, taco pizza, dry-rubbed baby-back ribs and very popular spicy fish tacos.
The bar, which was made by a FishHawk resident, features 12 beers on tap, all from the state of Florida including three each from Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing and Coppertail Brewery.
The owners plan to launch online ordering for carryout meals in the near future and are offering happy hour on weekdays from 3-5 p.m. There are also plans for a wine tasting and pairing event in February and music on the patio area when the weather gets warmer.
The restaurant is located at 5614 FishHawk Crossing Blvd. and can be reached at 906-9656. For more information, visit www.tacoyolo.com or find Taco Yolo on Facebook.
