Taco Gordo to open eatery, bar in Old North End

By late summer, a former bottle-redemption center on North Winooski Avenue should house Taco Gordo's first restaurant as well as a kitchen production space for All Souls Tortilleria, city records show.

Taco Gordo has operated food carts in the Burlington area.

All Souls Tortilleria currently operates out of Warren and distributes its organic corn tortillas throughout much of Vermont. Its new kitchen would occupy about a 1,200 square feet; the restaurant would have a footprint nearly twice that size, according to papers submitted to the city's Development Review Board.

The taco eatery has plans to seat about 50 customers and have up to 10 employees, according to Owner Charlie Sizemore's application for a liquor license. The application also describes an outdoor eating area with picnic tables and planters.

Sizemore declined requests for comment, but noted in his application he hopes to open by Sept. 1.

Burlington City Council approved Sizemore's application last month; the owner received a state wastewater permit in April.

All Souls Tortilleria co-owner Sam Fuller said he plans to collaborate closely with Taco Gordo, including the production of a custom tortilla for the restaurant.

Fuller, an Old North End resident, said relocating his business to Burlington would eliminate his long commute to the Mad River Valley — and makes good civic sense.

"It will deepen a lot of the relationships we have in Burlington," Fuller said.

Redstone LLC, the building's owner, had earlier entertained a proposal to convert the redemption center into a recording studio, according to Erik Hoekstra, a managing partner at the Burlington firm.

Ultimately, a restaurant "made better sense from the neighborhood vitality standpoint," Hoekstra said

The building at 208-210 North Winooski Avenue, at the corner of North Union Street, will be thoroughly rehabilitated before it opens for business in late summer or early fall, he continued.

The redemption center's signature garage doors will not survive the transition, Hoekstra added.