LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- An authentic taqueria will open this summer in Lakewood’s Birdtown neighborhood.

Hola Tacos, owned by the family that runs the popular Barroco Arepa Bar, will open in late August or early September. It will be located at 12102 Madison Ave., the former location of The Gorilla, a barbecue and ice cream shop.

When restaurant owner Juan Vergara first saw the closed-up storefront, he immediately envisioned a Los Angeles-style taco stand.

“It just looked to me like a taco stand,” he said. “We wanted to do tacos but bring something else to the table that no one really is doing. There are tons of different tacos that are from regional Mexico that are not found here in Cleveland.”

The stand will offer al pastor, cecina and birria tacos, along with other styles. Tortillas will be made from scratch inside the store. The menu will also include authentic salsas and mole sauces.

Hola Tacos will have a liquor license, Vergara said. The drink menu will include a variety of Mexican beers and tequila drinks.

The restaurant -- which will feature outdoor seating on picnic tables -- faces its biggest challenge in confronting Cleveland’s winter season. Vergara plans to keep Hola Tacos open year-round, with a patio area semi-closed off from the elements with curtains and heaters. (“We already do that with our patio in Lakewood [at Barroco], so it works perfectly,” Vergara said.)

The shop will also offer delivery and drive-up service for diners to eat in their cars.

Hola Tacos is located just down the street from the first Barroco storefront (12906 Madison Ave.), which opened in 2011. Since then, Vergara has opened up two more locations of Barroco -- 12718 Larchmere Blvd., Cleveland, and 287 Crocker Park Blvd., Westlake.

Vergara has had good business in Lakewood, he said, and wants to build up his neighborhood. He plans to move forward with an additional Madison Avenue restaurant concept, Casablanca Urban Cantina, originally announced in 2016. The restaurant was stalled when Vergara opened up Barroco’s last two locations -- but now he plans to open the Latin American barbecue restaurant in 2020.

“The idea behind that is to keep making that end of Madison really appealing to diners, and to continue to grow that end of the street,” Vergara said. “We’ve always had our hearts set in Lakewood.”

You can find more information about Hola Tacos, including its to-be-announced opening date, at its Facebook page and Instagram page.