Crystal Wise
Suffice it to say, our antennae went up this morning during a text exchange with Tim Love, the notable chef with the prominent Fort Worth footprint.
“Fake news,” he said regarding his reported purchase of Sarah Castillo’s two Taco Heads restaurants.
Hmmmm. As we know, the term “fake news” requires elaboration. “Fake news” could mean the story is completely false. It could also mean the story is partially false. It could mean the story is completely true.
We are left to deduce that it was all true, though not all the t’s were crossed, not all the i’s dotted.
So, the taco concept with two locations started by Castillo out of a food truck lives to feed appetites many more days to come apparently. The haunts on Montgomery Street near Dickies Arena and North Main in the Stockyards District are open for business. She declined to elaborate on what, if anything, happened for the deal to fall through.
“We’re are extremely happy,” Castillo followed up in a phone interview. “We’re stoked to keep the taco journey going.”
As are many in the taco market. One post on the Taco Heads Instagram account said, "That’s great news! I was in a rollercoaster of emotions when I heard earlier this week you guys were closing or selling?”
Rest easy, fellow taco head.
Castillo’s portfolio of business interests has since expanded in the 14 years since opening the truck, as well as the brick-and-mortar in 2016 on Montgomery.
Tinies Mexican Cuisine, named after her mother, does business at 113 S. Main Street, and the Side Saddle Saloon serves adult beverages at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
In April, Castillo also helped launch La Pulga Tequila, a Fort Worth-based spirit distilled in Mexico. To piggyback off the tequila launch, Castillo and her business partners also have plans to turn the 12-acre open-air market adjacent to the Rockwood Go-Karts & Mini Golf on 700 N. University Dr., into a distillery.
It’s a long way from the that very first night in the truck sitting tucked behind a cluster of bars off West Seventh Street. She only had $600 in her bank account. She was all in.
“That first night, I said to myself, ‘OK, this is it. If we don’t sell anything, I won’t be able to do this again because I don’t have any more money,’” Castillo recalled for our foodie reporter Malcolm Mayhew a few years ago.
However, that very first night, Jimmy Moore, the owner of 7th Haven, presented her a deal she couldn’t refuse.
“At the end of the night, Jimmy handed me a beer and said, ‘If you want to make this a permanent thing, I’ll build a patio and deck for you.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m down for that,’ and that’s how this all got started.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.