Fast-casual Mexican restaurant Taco + Pina is closed in Shirlington, at least for now.
Neither the restaurant nor the Village of Shirlington has confirmed whether the closure of the eatery at 4041 Campbell Avenue is permanent.
The door was locked, a ladder was inside the eatery, and no employees were present when ARLnow went to the restaurant late last week around lunchtime. When calling Taco + Pina, the phone rings for a while before going to a full mailbox.
The website also notes that every item and dish is “out of stock.”
Taco + Pina opened in Shirlington at the height of the pandemic, in May 2020. It moved into the former location of Lotus Grill and Noodles. Owner Graham Bartlett was a former executive chef under local restaurateur Richard Sandoval, who owns El Centro in D.C. and Tysons’ La Sandia.
“TACO + PINA’s is a labor of love which has been in the works for almost a year and a half now,” Bartlett said at the time. “While some may question opening during a pandemic I believe it is our destiny to launch on Cinco de Mayo, which this year also falls on Taco Tuesday.”
If it is in fact closed, it’s not immediately when exactly it happened. There hasn’t been a social media post since October, but there are several Yelp reviews from as recently as last month. (The taqueria has a four-out-of-five star rating on Yelp.)
Over the past year or so the Village of Shirlington has had a number of high-profile establishments announce they were moving into the dining-and-shopping center. Many have yet to open.
Great Falls-based Greek restaurant Our Mom Eugenia was looking to open this fall, but it appears that’s been delayed to early next year. ARLnow had the scoop that Jeni’s Ice Cream was set to start serving in Shirlington way back in April, but doors remain locked with no timeline for when the ice cream shop might open.
Astro Beer Hall announced that it was moving into the former Capitol City Brewing Co. space a year ago, but that also has yet to make its debut.