When Lokos Tacos first opened in 2022, Miguel and Lupita Chavez wanted to keep the restaurant small and simple.
Then their small place started feeling smaller.
“On the weekends, if there’s a party of, let’s say 15, they think about going over there,” Mr. Chavez said. “We might be busy. We won’t have any tables available; they’ll go somewhere else.”
Fortunately, the Chavezes knew a “somewhere else” where they could unveil a bigger version of Lokos Tacos – in a Habanero’s Mexican Restaurant. The Chavezes have operated several Habanero’s in the Augusta area. The biggest was in the former Teresa’s Mexican Restaurant at 235 Boy Scout Rd.
After about a year of roof repairs, repainted walls and widened doorways, the Habanero’s sign came down and the second Lokos Tacos opened Jan. 22.
The original Lokos Tacos opened in October 2022 in the former Yosko Japanese steakhouse in the Fairway Square Shopping Center, 2825 Washington Rd. The goal: Instead of another contemporary Mexican place, the restaurant would excel at street food, with all the food coming hot off the grill.