A local restaurateur is preparing to grow his Mexican restaurant group across Boston and beyond.
Dan Leyva, founder and CEO of Beacon Hill-based Taco Azul, is launching a fast-casual spinoff of his contemporary Mexican concept called Azul Mexican Kitchen. The first two locations are currently under development at South Station (1 South Station) and Faneuil Hall Marketplace (4 South Market Street) in downtown Boston, with additional expansion planned throughout Boston and New England.
Leyva brings more than 15 years of restaurant industry experience to the venture. A graduate of Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, he has worked with a variety of notable restaurant brands across the country, including Tacombi, Wings Over, and 7th Street Burger. He also earned a spot on Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 Food & Drink list in 2021 before relocating to New England to launch his own restaurant group.
“Our goal was simply to bring delicious, amazing Mexican food and do it in ways that aren’t always seen, but just make it super accessible, super easy,” Leyva told What Now Boston. “And at the end of the day, just make sure it’s delicious.”
That vision first came to life with Taco Azul, which opened in Beacon Hill in October 2024. Leyva describes the restaurant as the company’s full-service “test kitchen,” featuring table service, cocktails, and a menu of elevated Mexican fare.
The concept’s success laid the groundwork for the group’s next phase of growth: a smaller-format, fast-casual brand designed to bring the same flavors to guests on the go. “It’s essentially the little brother, little sister to Taco Azul with a lot of the same menu items, almost identical in some ways, but in a more casual and smaller format type of store,” Leyva explained.
Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the eatery will allow guests to build their own bowls, burritos, tacos, nachos, and quesadillas using many of the same ingredients found at Taco Azul. While Leyva compares the ordering style to Chipotle, he believes Azul Mexican Kitchen will distinguish itself through its ingredient quality and menu variety.
Among the standout offerings are protein options such as shrimp, which are less common among fast-casual competitors. Like Taco Azul, the new concept will feature house-made blue corn tortillas, freshly prepared blue corn tortilla chips, guacamole, and other items made fresh daily. Alcohol is not currently part of the concept’s strategy, though Leyva said that could change in the future.
The South Station location is expected to open by late July or early August 2026, while the Faneuil Hall Marketplace restaurant is slated to debut in the Quincy Market Main Hall later this summer or in early fall. Leyva said that the two high-profile destinations were intentionally selected as flagship outposts for the growing brand.
“We wanted our first two locations to be somewhat landmark flagship-type locations that are recognizable to Boston,” he said. “You tell people about Boston, you tell them about South Station, you tell them about Faneuil Hall, Quincy Market—people know.”
Looking ahead, the company is exploring future locations in the Seaport District, Back Bay, Cambridge, and other neighborhoods throughout Greater Boston as part of an ambitious regional growth strategy. Leyva said he hopes to open several additional outposts within the next year as Azul Mexican Kitchen continues to expand across the region.
“Boston’s been amazing to us so far,” he added. “So we’re really excited to continue expanding our footprint throughout Boston.”
