Esther’s 2115 Hillsborough Ave., Tampa One of Tampa’s beloved, hole-in-the-wall taco trucks grew up a bit this year, and expanded into its first brick-and-mortar location. As any Tampa taco fan will admit, the original Esther’s Cafe has been a local favorite for nearly 12 years, but the truck is somewhat hard to find, since it’s tucked away behind the produce stands at 3001 E Hillsborough Ave. Last May, owner Jorge Castellano debuted an easier to locate, new brick-and mortar outpost just down the street. The new Esther’s Tacos officially opened May 12, and offers the same menu as the original, except with air conditioning, more seating and parking. Photo by Colin Wolf Credit: Photo by Colin Wolf

One of Tampa’s beloved, hole-in-the-wall taco trucks is expanding to a much bigger space.

As any Tampa taco fan will admit, the original Esther’s Cafe has been a local favorite for nearly 12 years, but the truck is somewhat hard to find, since it’s tucked away behind the produce stands at 3001 E Hillsborough Ave.

But a couple week’s ago, owner Jorge Castellano debuted an easier to locate, new brick-and mortar outpost just down the street.

Located at 2115 Hillsborough Ave., the new Esther’s Tacos officially opened May 12, and offers the same menu as the original, except with air conditioning, more seating and parking.

The original Esther’s Cafe location. Credit: Photo by Chelsea Wolf

Castellano told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that the original truck will remain open with slightly different hours of operation (7 a.m. to 11 p.m.), while the new spot will operate from 10 a.m to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

“People love our food, and so we just want to continue to do the same thing, but at a place that’s easier for the customers,” said Castellano, who added that the new spot will also make all their tortillas by hand.

“For me, it’s important that we continue to do that,” said Castellano. “It’s difficult to make tortillas, and not everyone likes to do it. But for us, that’s the difference.”

For the unfamiliar, Esther’s offers a full menu of traditional Mexican cuisine, including tacos, sopas, burritos, tostadas, enchiladas and more.

As of now, there’s no major grand-opening festivities planned, but be sure to take advantage of Esther’s weekly Taco Tuesday special, where all tacos (any meat) are just $2.50.

Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.

This article appears in May 16-22, 2024.