Johnson County’s Taco Naco Expanding to Westport

Excerpt from The Kansas City Star - March 7, 2023
Words and photos by Joyce Smith

Taco Naco KC’s chicken al pastor with pineapple relish.

Overland Park’s Taco Naco KC is taking over the former Port Fonda space in Westport. It plans a mid-to-late summer opening. “We see Westport becoming a culinary center,” said Taco Naco KC partner Brian Goldman Ruiz. “We like being around other chefs and were looking for a more destination kind of space. We’re excited. We’re all about community, and it is a very community-focused area.” Goldman Ruiz and his wife, Chef Fernanda Reyes, started Taco Naco as a catering operation in 2019. They also did pop-ups during the pandemic. Two years ago, they opened a restaurant at 8220 Metcalf Ave.

They combine their family recipes — from his grandmother in central Mexico and Reyes’ native northern Mexico — while adding their own touches. Reyes’ family has restaurants in Mexico, and she earned a degree from the Instituto Culinario de México.

Tacos include brisket barbacoa (slow-cooked beef marinated in a guajillo sauce and topped with chipotle aioli and red pickled onion in a 5-inch white corn tortilla with melted cheese), and the mushroom mole (wild mushrooms in a mild mole poblano topped with sesame seed, red pickled onion and fresh cilantro in a 5-inch blue corn tortilla). Their new quesabirria has birria-style brisket topped with white onion, melted cheese and fresh cilantro in a 5-inch corn tortilla and is served with au jus consommé. Other menu items include breakfast tacos, seafood tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, breakfast burritos, loaded nachos, burritos, rice bowls and churros.

Husband and wife Brian Goldman Ruiz and Fernanda Reyes own Taco Naco KC.

The new Taco Naco KC also will have a full bar with a focus on tequilas and mezcals, along with margaritas.

The couple plan to have their food trailer in front of the new location, 4141 Pennsylvania Ave., by mid-March. They are currently hiring for a staff of 15 to 20 people.

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Joyce Smith has covered restaurant and retail news for The Star since 1989 under the brand Cityscape. She appreciates news tips.