The mom-and-pop taco shop based out of Gravesend is gearing up for a new expansion across the East River.
In 1997, two Mexican immigrants, Minerva De Torres and Herminio Torres Sr., took over a small shop in Brooklyn to pursue their dream of becoming American business owners. They opened up a small bodega called El Charrito Grocery in Gravesend, and soon were able to expand with their popular El Charrito Restaurant. As Mexican pioneers in a famously Italian neighborhood, their restaurant soon became a huge success as locals fell in love with the Torres’ signature Mexican cooking.
In 2003, Minerva and Herminio sold the restaurant to move on to alternative business opportunities, but they never stopped distilling a love of cooking in their children. Then in 2017, 20 years after the launch of El Charrito, two of their children, Alejandro Torres and Herminio Torres Jr., returned to the storied spot to launch a concept of their own design. Endeavoring to launch a “new era of Mexican food in South Brooklyn,” the two established El Gallo Taqueria to serve up some of the neighborhood’s most popular tacos.
Today, the restaurant can be found in three locations across the city, in Gravesend, Nolita, and the Upper West Side. Now, Alejandro and Herminio are once again gearing up to expand their popular taco concept with a brand new location. Their latest expansion will see El Gallo opening up at 609 Ninth Avenue, between West 43rd Street and West 44th. The location was formerly occupied by Swift Eats, a fast-casual restaurant that focused on a wide variety of foods that could be prepared and delivered swiftly.
The location is rather intimate, and is expected to seat about 17 guests inside at once, but the space is well-equipped to handle a large amount of delivery and take-out orders. Guests can expect to enjoy a variety of different tacos, quesadillas, bowls, burritos and nachos, and will have a diverse away of meats for filling, including chicken, al pastor pork, suadero beef, chorizo, barbacoa, beef tongue, shrimp, and vegetarian options like mushrooms and avocado, and cactus and pico.
Alejandro and Herminio are also looking to acquire a wine, beer, and cider license for the space and are proposing operating hours of 10:00 AM – 12:00 AM every day, seven days a week. While the team has not yet announced their timeline for opening, you can follow El Gallo on Instagram for regular updates, and you can check out one of their existing locations to discover just what exactly has made these tacos so popular.
