Torchy’s Tacos opens in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG — Taco fans, rejoice: Florida’s first Torchy’s Tacos is now open in St. Petersburg.

Within an hour of the restaurant’s highly anticipated grand opening on Feb. 1, a line of customers snaked around the building at 2314 Tyrone Blvd. N, eager to get their hands on the popular chain’s self-proclaimed “damn good” tacos.

The restaurant, which takes over the old Pollo Tropical space, has been undergoing renovations since the company announced its launch last fall and now includes a roughly 3,700-square-foot dining space with an outdoor patio.

The Tyrone Boulevard location is the first of many Torchy’s outposts planned for the state. The Austin, Texas-based restaurant first opened in 2006, quickly amassing a large fanbase for their creative taco creations, breakfast tacos and green chile queso. The company now has over 100 locations in 14 states and multiple more planned for Florida, including an Altamonte Springs restaurant opening in late spring.

“Torchy’s is focusing on building out our east coast presence and Florida really hit the mark for us in terms of its incredible growth, passionate food scene and laid-back culture,” Torchy’s Tacos founder and CEO Mike Rypka said in a prepared statement. “We’ve been wanting to come to the Sunshine State for a while now and are pumped to finally be opening our St. Petersburg location.”

Menu highlights include a green chile pork taco, made with carnitas, green chiles and cotija cheese; the Trailer Park taco (the restaurant first launched in a food trailer) filled with fried chicken, green chiles, lettuce, pico de gallo and cheddar jack cheese; and breakfast taco hallmarks like the Wrangler, made with eggs, smoked beef brisket, potatoes, cheese and tomatillo sauce.

The menu also includes sides like refried beans, street corn, guacamole, green chile queso and salsa.

The restaurant has a full bar with a drinks menu highlighting fresh-squeezed margaritas and local beers.

Torchy’s Tacos is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.