Loco Taco, the Mexican restaurant found in the Brooks Grocery plaza, is opening a new location in downtown Tupelo at 202 W Main St.
The company’s second location will move into the former home of the Thirsty Devil in the old TKE building, according to Daily Journal. Owner Fidel Cubillo is currently working with Taste and See Consulting on design and architectural details with the city. Proposed plans show all the exterior windows of the building will be replaced, along with the wood and asphalt shingle canopy along Main Street. Britt Caldwell, owner of Taste & See Consulting and Design, worked with Cubillo in 2020 with his other restaurant, Cantina Del Sol.
Whenever the restaurant opens, customers can expect authentic Mexican cuisine with an emphasis on tacos. The company’s original location on Coley Road, which opened last year, is modeled after fast-casual concepts with an open kitchen, where customers can order from the counter, and the food will be brought to them by servers. Additional seating is available in the back near the bar. It’s unclear whether or not the new downtown location will resemble this design.
The TKE building, also known as the old Thomas Kincannon & Elkin Drug Store, opened in the 1900s and has seen several businesses come and go. For most of its life, the building has served as Tupelo’s first drugstore and soda fountain and was at one point considered North Mississippi’s largest retail drugstore until it closed in 1984. Before The Thirsty Devil, the building was home to Atlanta Bar & Grill. The building was recently purchased, and the new owners started renovations on the building earlier this year.
