The Lloyd Army has been waiting a long time for Lloyd Taco Factory, the first brick and mortar restaurant from Lloyd Taco Trucks, to open their doors on Hertel Ave. There have been quite a few ups and down for owners Pete Cimino and Chris Dorsaneo over the last nine months, but next week they will finally open one of Buffalo’s most anticipated restaurants of 2015.

Since they chatted about their plans to open up a restaurant in a 2013 podcast episode of Eat It Up, we’ve known this was only a matter of time. We foolishly assumed they’d have a simple shop with a couple tacos, nothing too crazy. After looking at their space at 1503 Hertel Ave, I began to realize the scope of this restaurant and their business plans for the future. Pete and Chris aren’t just opening a restaurant that’s open six days a week (for lunch and dinner, Mon-Sat), they’re also opening a tortilleria and a separate kitchen space to stock their fleet of trucks. Here’s what you can look forward to when you visit the restaurant.

Freshly made corn AND flour tortillas. Anyone who watched the Lloyd episode of Restaurant Start Up knew they were going to make fresh corn tortillas. What you probably didn’t know is that they are also making fresh flour tortillas for burritos. The guys have formed a separate company with John and Kristi Mora (a couple who really know how to make tortillas, with roots in Mexico and LA) to make their masa, the main ingredient in corn tortillas, from scratch. They are bringing in raw corn, soaking it in water with lime, taking off the skin and grinding into the soft masa. There is no one else doing that in this area. You’d have to drive to Chicago or New York City to find anything close. When you walk into the restaurant you’ll see an open kitchen and two large tortilla makers that work almost automatically. They will be selling tortillas for customers to take home and the goal is to eventually sell retail and get their homemade tortillas on the trucks.

The menu is familiar and fresh. Love the classics on the truck? Don’t worry, they are not going anywhere. The standard pork, chicken, beef and beans will still be available. As well four very popular specials: Dirty South, Skinny Thai, Crispy Fish and Big Lloyd. They’ll also have Rocket Wings, a chorizo Quesadilla, steak skewers, ‘Cortez salad’ (their play on a Caesar, it’s damn good), a Sonoran Dog (bacon wrapped, topped with delicious sauce and tomato/onion/cilantro) and much more on the menu at all times.

Booze!!! The bar will feature several cocktails (thanks to some training/help from Queen City Shaken & Stirred’s Jon Karel, Kerry Quaile and Zack Mikida), as well as 40 bottles of mezcal along with tequila and other standard spirits. They will have six beers on tap, mostly from local breweries, and two bottles available (domestic and Mexican). They will have a frozen drink machine…their first flavor is pina colada. They also have a punch in a separate chilled dispenser, the first flavor available for customers is Gin and Juice (it will be available for growler fills too).

It looks really cool. The theme of the restaurant is inspired by Willy Wonka and the design team of Box Craft Studio knocked it out of the park. The walls are covered with graffiti, the open kitchen with the tortilla machines is fun to watch and colorful light fixtures with Edison bulbs run the length of the bar. There’s also projector that will display tweets mentioning @whereslloyd as well as their website.

How to order. The restaurant is set up as a fast casual restaurant, similar to what you may remember from their TV appearance. There are two entrances to the restaurant. One will take you to the food line, the other will enter near the bar. You will place your food order just like you would at the truck, and they’ll call out your name when it’s ready. If you want to grab a drink that’s not soda or a bottle of beer, head over to the bar and grab a cocktail or a flight of mezcal.

To prevent massive crowds and foodie hysteria, I can’t confirm any exact opening dates. However, I will recommend that this weekend you should walk by the restaurant and see if the doors are locked. If you’re lucky, they won’t be and you might be able to grab a meal. I can confirm that they will have their big opening next week and everyone will be able to stop by. Get excited folks, it’s finally here.

Photo Gallery (most pictures provided by Lloyd):