Revolver Taco Lounge closes in Fort Worth

One of the city's best restaurants, Revolver Taco Lounge — an upscale taqueria originally located in the West Seventh area, then moved to a strip mall on Forest Park Boulevard — has closed, owner Regino Rojas has announced on Facebook.

“Everything has a start and an end,” Rojas wrote in an all-Spanish-language post on his personal Facebook page. “Fort Worth gave me the little boards to start this undertaking that I will take as far as I can. Many thanks Fort Worth. It was a pleasure learning from you.”

A second location recently opened in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district, and some of the employees of the Fort Worth location are already working there, an employee of the Dallas location says.

This appears to be the final chapter in a long-running saga.

The original Fort Worth location opened on West Seventh Street in 2011. Perhaps the first taqueria of its kind in Fort Worth, the restaurant featured a plush, nightclub atmosphere set against a backdrop of employees — including Rojas' own relatives — hand-making the food.

Recipes were inspired by the cuisine of Michoacan, the Mexican state where Rojas and his family are from. The menu featured items such as duck-breast tacos and young goat stew.

Texas Monthly named its huitlocoche taco as one of the best tacos in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and celebrity foodie Andrew Zimmern paid a visit for “Bizarre Foods America,” describing the food as “some of the best Michoacan food you can find outside of Mexico.”

Two years ago, when Revolver was still on West Seventh, its future came into question, as Rojas and the restaurant's landlord could not agree on lease renewal terms.

After months of back-and-forth between the two parties, some of which played out on Rojas' social media, Rojas closed the restaurant, relocating it to the Forest Park Boulevard, in alarge two-room spot where Sera Fine Dining & Wine and Sapristi! Bistro & Wine Bar had come and gone.

Two years ago, Rojas opened another restaurant, Campestre Chula Vista, on Fort Worth's north side. But it closed 10 months later because of what Rojas described as structural problems.

This story was originally published July 27, 2017 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Revolver Taco Lounge closes in Fort Worth."