Triad-based pizza brand Cugino Forno is launching a new concept this year. The team will open Solo Taco this March at Revolution Mill in Greensboro.
Joseph Ozbey, Yilmaz Guver and Adam Aksoy are behind Cugino Forno. The pizza brand will have seven locations open soon with the addition of a Greenville, South Carolina, location.
Their inspiration for the taqueria stemmed from employees cooking various meals, including tacos.
“We started joking, ‘We should open a taqueria,’” Ozbey told What Now Charlotte. “That joke eventually became a reality and we’re opening a taco shop.”
Solo Taco will lean into simplicity, featuring a one-page menu with several taco options, some desserts, a few salads, and drinks such as margaritas and aguas frescas. The menu will focus on incorporating local products such as North Carolina shrimp.
“The way we did our pizzas was always simple with a limited menu and the best ingredients possible,” Ozbey said. “The tacos are the exact same idea.”
Ozbey feels that the concept’s limited menu will set it apart in the market. If all goes well, he foresees expansion to additional locations in the future.
“We really believe in it,” Ozbey said. “This is an exciting concept because it’s not something you run into every day in North Carolina.”
