Deep South Taco’s second location is now open. Since opening upon the New Year, the restaurant has been serving an average of 600 people a day. I stopped in last evening for a beer, but the place was too busy to find a spot at the bar. I spoke to owner Richard Hamilton who told me that they were on par for serving 720 customers on that day – not too shabby.
What’s interesting is that the North Buffalo location is slightly smaller than the Downtown location, and obviously the patio isn’t open. Hamilton said that as soon as the temp breaks 40 degrees they will test out the patio, which is designed with advanced radiant heating mechanisms.
As we talked (it was around 7pm), he mentioned that there had been approximately a two hour wait since 5pm. Obviously people had been waiting for this place to open. I asked him what he most recognized as being different between the two locations. “There are a lot of families (kids) at this location,” he shared. “The higher ceilings allowed us to play around with the dramatic lighting – there’s a great energy here.”
Before leaving, Hamilton mentioned that he had spent a total of $1.5 million on the project. “That’s a lot of money for a place that sells $4 to $5 tacos,” he told me. “But we wanted to create something that was truly special to Hertel Avenue. I think we’ve done that here. People aren’t going to believe it when we open the patio doors.”
Deep South Taco | 1707 Hertel Avenue | Buffalo, NY 14216 | 716.235.8464 | Locations and times