Soon, there will be two kinds of Taco Joints in the Dallas area.
There'll be Taco Joint, the local restaurant group with three locations in Dallas and one in Richardson. And then there'll be Guy Fieri's Taco Joint, an unaffiliated restaurant.
Both brands sell tacos, guacamole and margaritas. But only one is repped by a spiky-haired Food Network celebrity with a very loyal following.
Guy Fieri's Taco Joint will be located at Texas Live!, the $250 million development in Arlington near the Texas Rangers' coming-soon ballpark. Alongside Guy Fieri's Taco Joint, Texas Live! will have restaurants from other celebrity names: Troy's (a Troy Aikman bar and restaurant) and Pudge's Pizza (named for Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez). The complex will also include a Lockhart Smokehouse barbecue joint and a bull-riding-themed bar called PBR Texas.
Before we knew what kind of restaurant Food Network star Fieri would be opening in Arlington, we did know something was in the works. "We're going to knock it out of the park," Fieri said in 2016, giving no hints.
Fieri's famous name is all over Dallas-Fort Worth. In addition to operating Guy's Burger Joint, which is located at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas and open only during concerts, Fieri's face is spraypainted at the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives restaurants he has visited in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 2018 alone, Triple D featured Dallas restaurants Tacos Mariachi, Nora Restaurant and Bar, CrushCraft Thai and more. In the past, Fieri has visited Cane Rosso, Pecan Lodge and Twisted Root for the show.
The California native also made a stop at the State Fair of Texas in 2017 to emcee a kids cooking contest.
Suffice it to say, Fieri has been a familiar face who gave a serious boost to Dallas-area restaurants. Jesus Carmona, the owner of Tacos Mariachi, said it was "the American dream" to be featured on Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives and reap the benefits of a Guy Fieri endorsement.
But tacos are serious business. Do Texans want Fieri serving up tacos?
Guy Fieri's Taco Joint is expected to open Aug. 9 during a four-day party in Arlington. In a statement, Fieri says the Joint will have "killer tacos and a few margaritas."
More about Texas Live!:
- Details on the grand opening weekend
- Troy Aikman to open a bar and restaurant
- Lockhart Smokehouse signs on to do the barbecue
- Revolver Brewing will serve beer, and Balcones Distillery will pour whiskey
- Country-themed bar called PBR will hold a whopping 1,500 people
More about Guy Fieri's trips to Dallas:
- 6 recent restaurants featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
- Why Guy Fieri didn't eat a corny dog at the State Fair of Texas
- More about Guy's Burger Joint in Dallas
