Session Taco (398 N. Euclid) in the Central West End is finally ready to welcome guests again. The restaurant formerly known as Mission Taco Joint is slated to reopen June 16 at 11 a.m.
Located at the corner of Euclid and McPherson, the taqueria has been closed since a fire damaged it and two other restaurants in 2022. A full rebuild was mapped out, with hopes of reopening by fall 2024.
Asked what could have gone wrong to cause such a delay, co-owner Adam Tilford shrugged and said, “Pretty much everything.” The upside: The refreshed space boasts improved traffic flow, an expanded event space downstairs, and a brand-new food and drink menu.
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Atmosphere
The biggest change is an additional 500 square feet, so all cooking and prep (including storage, kitchen equipment, prep, walk-in cooler, ice machine, etc.) are now located on the main level, which wasn’t the case before.
“One of our delivery guys swore he’d never come back until I told him everything’s on the first floor now,” says co-owner/chef Jason Tilford. “Dude nearly hugged me.” Part of the new kitchen facing McPherson is lined with windows—“quite the luxury,” Jason says—so passersby can see meats being grilled on the top-of-the-line Aztec grill burning hickory wood.
“There was no fire damage,” Adam explains, “just smoke and water.” Still, the renovation was extensive: All kitchen equipment, furniture, and fixtures were replaced. The brothers used the downtime to make a few strategic changes, including shrinking and repositioning the bar to improve traffic flow along the building’s north side. The dining room still seats just under 80 but offers noticeably more breathing room. Outside, the wraparound patio will accommodate another 50 guests.
The pastel, racing-striped alder wood tabletops—designed by SPACE and used in other locations—remain, but the seating has improved. Gone are the hard metal barstools; in their place are more forgiving wooden chairs that are sure to please anyone with a sensitive backside.
Floor-to-ceiling windows still frame both street-facing walls, putting the interior mural on full display—a colorful, street-side beacon and staple of all Session Taco locations. Local tattoo artist Pia Rene painted this one, a vibrant Day of the Dead homage.
With demand for private event space always high, the brothers also upgraded the downstairs area. It now seats approximately 50, features a lounge area, seven free-play arcade games, a mini stage for DJs or small bands, and its own bar and bathrooms—“everything you need to throw a party,” Adam says.
The Food
In early June, Jason rolled out a revamped menu across all Session Taco locations, introducing “three to an order” taco plates, which he expects to be big sellers.
Two standouts include the Governor’s Tacos (packed with chile-grilled shrimp, peppers, onions, caramelized cheese, and rosa blanca sauce on flour tortillas) and the Quesabirria Tacos (featuring chile-braised beef birria, melted Oaxaca cheese, pickled onion, micro cilantro, and a rich consommé for dipping). “Caramelizing the cheese really sets the Governor’s apart,” Jason notes, “and the shells for the Quesabirria are dipped in the consommé dipping juice before grilling.”
Quesabirria, currently riding a national wave of popularity, has a personal backstory for the brothers. “I first had birria in Sinaloa as a goat stew,” Adam says. “In the U.S, it evolved into braised beef tacos. We originally offered a straightforward brisket birria taco, which sold well, but people wanted the cheesy, crispy version they’d seen on the Food Network. We ended up pulling it, but now it’s back—and fully quesabirria.” In SoCal parlance, he adds, “We’ll ride the wave.”
A new savory beef birria and cheese empanada joins the lineup as well, replacing the former churro cheesecake dessert version. (“One empanada per menu is enough,” Jason says.) Instead, the dessert slot now features churro-flavored doughnut holes with Mexican chocolate dipping sauce, sold as a “surfer’s dozen” for $9.
“Everyone does churros,” Adam says. “The world is churro’ed out. We wanted to change it up.”
The burrito section sees the return of a customer favorite, Three Little Piggies, a tri-pork powerhouse made with pork carnitas, chorizo, and bacon, plus Oaxaca cheese, cilantro rice, black beans, ancho agave sauce, and pickled onions.
Not every item made the cut. MTJ’s tortas are no longer on the menu, and the Big Ass Nacho—a single oversized tlayuda designed to be shared—was dropped as well. “Even though we described it as one big chip, people still thought it’d be a pile of nachos,” Adam explains. The replacement is Nacho Sesh, a combo of tortilla chips, borracho beans, queso, Oaxaca and cotija cheeses, jalapeños, and avocado serrano sauce.
Three popular items from last fall’s menu earned a permanent spot: the lobster taco, grilled mahi mahi taco, and crab taquitos (Jason’s favorite item on the menu).
The Beverages
The bar program has undergone a major overhaul, thanks to Session’s new(ish) director of operations, Josh Laney—“a major game-changer,” according to Adam. Laney served as bar manager at Mission Taco Joint in Soulard, GM of the Delmar Loop location, and most recently bar manager at Pastaria before launching Expat BBQ, both part of Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group.
Among his first moves was reviving the popular, budget-friendly “beertail,” including the Mexi-Cali Bulldog (Negra Modelo spiked with Joven tequila, lime juice, and agave). Laney also introduced cleverly named nonalcoholic cocktails (such as Jamaiican Me Sober Driver?), which have been strong sellers. More may be on the way.
Most notably, Laney brought back the original margarita recipe, made with curaçao rather than another orange flavored product. “Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao got so expensive, it cost more than the tequila,” he says. In response, the team had switched to a simplified sour mix with orange juice—a downgrade, in his opinion. Laney’s solution was to collaborate with Demetrious Cain of Nobleton’s Distilling in Union, Missouri, to produce a house-made dry curaçao dubbed Session Taco Curaçao Noir. “We’ve been using it since April, it’s made a big difference, and it’s local.”
Nobleton’s is also producing a custom agave spirit for Session. “He can’t legally call it tequila,” Laney explains, “but we’re starting to experiment with it and other house-made spirits. It’s a fun partnership.”
Laney is also expanding the wine lists at select locations where demand is in demand, such as Town & Country, Kirkwood, and now the CWE. Joining an existing Tempranillo and Spanish chardonnay are a skin-contact Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and a Malbec, but with a twist. “The grapes are recognizable,” he says, “but the regions aren’t. The Slovenian Sauvignon Blanc, for example, is fantastic and very affordable. It blew my mind at a tasting.”
Late-night happy hour has returned from 8–10 p.m. on weekdays and 9–11 p.m. on weekends. Drinking habits have changed, too. “Before [the pandemic], we were 65/35 percent food to alcohol,” Adam says, “now it’s closer to 80/20. Originally, we pitched ourselves as ‘a bar that serves Mexicali food.’ That’s flipped. Now people view us as a restaurant.”
The Backstory
Adam didn’t exactly take a straight path into the restaurant world. “I studied physical therapy in school,” he previously told SLM. “Why, I’ll never know, because I hate touching people.” He pivoted to residential real estate, which suited him better. Jason, on the other hand, was more direct: “Restaurants are all I’ve ever done.”
The Tilford brothers opened their first restaurant, Tortilleria, on a $20,000 shoestring. At Barrister’s, SLM noted “they produced a gastropub and proved that a cursed location wasn’t; and at Milagro Modern Mexican, they gave St. Louis its first taste of huitlacoche (‘Mexican truffles’) and salmon grilled in banana leaves, while sparing us the inveterate serapes, sombreros, and kitschy saguaros.”
The debut of Mission Taco Joint in February 2013 laid the foundation for a mini-empire: nine locations across St. Louis and Kansas City. Fans were drawn to the breezy, beach-town vibe, creative margaritas, and diverse beer selection, but it’s the brothers’ MexiCali spin on tacos, nachos, and burritos that keep customers coming back.
In September 2024, the company announced a rebrand to Session Taco after being sued for trademark infringement by Gruma Corporation, parent company of Mission Foods. “It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” Jason said at the time, adding that the brothers were excited about “the new chapter.” (The previous chapter, it’s worth noting, included a $500,000 Casa Herrera tortilla machine in Kirkwood capable of churning out 10,000 tortillas per hour, enough for all locations and for wholesale taco chip distribution in 20-pound boxes. MTJ-branded chips landed on retail grocery shelves and have returned under the new Session Taco brand.)
Today, Session Taco operates six locations across the St. Louis area and one in metro Kansas City, several of which feature retro video arcades. “Tacos and arcade games are a fun mix,” Adam previously noted. “After the success and popularity of the retro arcade at our Kirkwood location, we knew that we wanted to add this old-school entertainment to our other restaurants with the space for it. We just loved video games growing up.”
The road to reopening the Central West End location wasn’t smooth. After the 2022 fire, the Tilfords quickly negotiated a rebuild, but the construction process dragged. “I think there are 14 parcels in the building,” Adam explains. “That meant 14 potential insurance companies. The roof had to be replaced, and work started from the top down—plus delays for asbestos and lead abatement, and a massive holdup getting power restored because of an underground fiber-optic cable—everything you can think of…”
Then came the May 16 tornado, which ripped off the new roof vents and had to be replaced. “We were so close,” Adam says.
The fire left a high-profile vacancy on Euclid for nearly three years. But now the corner is buzzing again: Ranoush is back, Tikka Tangy’s second location opened there, Mainlander is preparing to move into two bays, and Stacked STL is taking over the former Pi space. “I know Jeni’s [Ice Cream] is happy to have neighbors again,” Adam says.
The Expansion Plans
Last month, the Tilford brothers announced their next venture: Lapez Mod Mex, a contemporary Mexican restaurant spotlighting wood-fired cooking, Spanish-Mexican influences, and a refined cocktail program. Set to open in early August, Lapez will take over a former Session Taco location in Leawood, Kansas.
“We felt that area was ready for something more elevated than tacos,” says Adam.
Jason describes it as “a step up from Milagro,” referring to their former concept Milagro Modern Mexican, which was often credited as St. Louis’ first gourmet Mexican restaurant. (“It was an amazing restaurant in a terrible location,” Adam adds, one he’s long considered reviving.)
The brothers say Lapez is a concept that they could eventually bring to select neighborhoods in St. Louis, but for now the focus is closer to home. “We’re working to return to our pre-[pandemic] roots—in hospitality, food and drink quality, and community involvement,” Adam says. “We let programs like that lapse because we didn’t have the staff for any extracurriculars, but with guys like Laney and others on board, we do now.”
But first on the list is dialing in Session,” he adds. “After all, it is a new brand, for us and for everybody.”
Session Taco – CWE
📍398 N. Euclid
📞 TBD
⏰ 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Sun-Thu; 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Fri-Sat
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