A signature Mayport shrimp taco exclusive to Jacksonville plus a "Bottoms Up Draft Beer System" top the menu of a newly opened Tex-Mex restaurant in the city's Intracoastal West area.
Capital Tacos, from husband and wife franchise co-owners James Muller and Brenna Demetree, held its grand opening Wednesday at 12220 Atlantic Blvd. No. 109 in Atlantic-Kernan Shops retail center.
It is the first location of the Tampa-based restaurant chain in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida. It's also only the fourth franchise in the company, Muller told the Times-Union.
Capital Tacos renovated the storefront that previously housed , the popular mom-and-pop seafood restaurant that closed last May after a decade.
The Tex-Mex restaurant is known for its chef-inspired, made-from-scratch and grilled-to-order Tex-Mex menu that includes tacos, burritos, quesadillas and bowls as well as hand-cut tortilla chips, homemade queso and salsas, Mexican street corn on the husk, hand-spiced fries and desserts.
"It's from scratch. Fresh cilantro. Butterflying the chicken and marinating it. We're prepping at 7 o'clock in the morning, doing 10 o'clock line checks and making sure it's ready for 11 o'clock line service to begin. And from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., we're grilling everything to order," Muller said.
The Jacksonville location also features an open kitchen, spacious dining area, a pinball machine, a children's play area with a theme inspired by the children's book "Dragons Love Tacos," and a chalk wall for kids to exercise their artistic skills.
Capital Tacos enters the Jacksonville market as two of its potential competitors downsized via abrupt, unrelated closures of some of their locations.
Four longtime Tijuana Flats locations closed abruptly last week. Burrito Gallery closed its original downtown Jacksonville restaurant after 18 years — just about three months after shutting down its Jacksonville Beach location.
On the menu at Capital Tacos
A chef and 40-year-veteran of the hospitality industry, Muller said he's always wanted to have his own restaurant. He was drawn to Capital Tacos because of its emphasis on high-quality ingredients, the fact everything is made fresh to order, and the restaurant chain "doesn't take shortcuts" when it comes to food, service or hospitality.
Muller created two of the Jacksonville restaurant's signature offerings. Exclusive to Jacksonville, both are available for a limited time.
First is a Mayport Shrimp Taco ($5.98), with coconut-crusted Mayport shrimp and roasted pineapple, sweet chili salsa, Tex-Mex pepper slaw and toasted coconut flakes. Then for dessert, Muller created a Salted Caramel Churro Cheesecake Bar ($3.98) with vanilla buttercream frosting.
And if they do well, "who knows, they might stay on the menu," said Muller, whose previous culinary experience includes serving as executive chef and managing partner of Maggiano's Little Italy at St. Johns Town Center.
"We have 13 signature tacos and you can get them any way. You can get them into a burrito, on a bowl of rice, on a salad, 12-inch quesadillas and some signature sauces like our Poblano ranch," Muller said.
The offerings include:
- Ace High Carnitas Taco Meal ($8.48): Traditional fried pork with green chilies, diced onions, Chihuahua cheese, cilantro, verde salsa and a lime wedge. Served with hand-spiced fries, Capital Ketchup and a craft fountain soda
- Catawampus Bowl ($12.48): Deep fried chicken with queso, lettuce, pico de gallo, jack and cheddar cheeses, and poblano ranch, on a bed of Mexican rice
- The Chicken Bacon Ranchadilla ($13.68): Two 12-inch tortillas filled with adobo chicken, bacon, melted jack, cheddar and Chihuahua cheeses, tossed with the house "dirty spice blend," poblano ranch, inside and on the side for dipping
- Ground Beast Taco ($4.98): Ground beef with grilled onions, lettuce, pico de gallo, jack and cheddar cheeses and sour cream
- MC Yum Yum Burrito ($12.88): Adobo chicken, bacon and housemade chorizo with jack and cheddar cheeses, corn salsa, pico de gallo and poblano ranch, wrapped in a 12-inch tortilla with Mexican rice and black beans
Unique draft system offers the 'perfect pour'
Muller said Capital Tacos is the first Jacksonville restaurant with the Bottoms Up Draft Beer System. It uses a specially designed cup to achieve the "perfect pour" — filling the cup with the precise amount of beer without overflowing.
The special cups have magnets at the bottom. When the cup is placed on the dispenser, the magnets rise out of the way and the beer flows upward into the cup to the amount of brew desired. It's a fun and impressive way to dispense draft beer.
Room to grow
Capital Tacos was co-founded in 2013 by James Marcus and Josh Luger in Land O’Lakes. Since then, it's evolved from a small corner taco shop to a nationally-ranked, fast-casual Tex-Mex restaurant chain with 20 locations either open or coming soon in seven states: Florida, Colorado, Georgia, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The Jacksonville restaurant is among 11 in Florida, the company's website shows.
The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.
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Muller said he's leaving the door open for additional Capital Tacos in the future in the Jacksonville area.
"There is always a possibility. I'm definitely leaving the door open for that. I have a really nice location here and I want to make sure that I'm maximizing what I do here first," Muller said.
Teresa Stepzinski is the dining reporter for the Times-Union. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @TeresaStepz or reach her via email at tstepzinski@jacksonville.com.
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