Taco Buddha's second location now open in Kirkwood
After building a loyal following at the flagship location in University City, owner Kurt Eller expands the fast-casual concept, with a Southwest-style menu of tacos, margaritas, and more in a welcoming atmosphere.
Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Taco Buddha's Kirkwood location opened this week, dine in only and with limited service hours (for now)
An expansion two years in the making, Taco Buddha in Kirkwood (11111 Manchester) has quietly opened its doors. The second location of the popular brand, the restaurant welcomed its first guests on June 13 and promises the same internationally inspired tacos, icy margaritas, and gorgeous atmosphere that its fans have come to love at the original University City location. Here's what to know before you go.
The Menu
Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Owner Kurt Eller describes Taco Buddha’s fare as a “Southwest kitchen, infused with international flavors.” He’s kept the menu exactly the same as the University City location. The Nashville Hot Chicken taco, for instance, features fried hunks of Nashville hot chicken, pimento cheese, buttermilk dressing, citrus pickled red onion, and romaine lettuce. Another popular taco, the Baja, pairs crispy battered fish with slaw, Baja-inspired sauce, cotija cheese and cilantro. The South Asian-inspired Jodhpur is a delectable mix of yogurt, lemon, and masala-marinated chicken, cabbage, New Mex Sauce, mango salsa, cotija, and cilantro. The mildly spicy flavors seem tailor-made to be washed down with one of Taco Buddha’s signature frozen margaritas, a refreshing, mouth-puckering libation.
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Jodhpur Taco
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Baja Taco
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Nashville Hot Chicken Taco
Like its sister location, the new Taco Buddha is a fast-casual operation. Guests can order at the counter or settle into their seats and make selections from a QR code on the table, then wait for the food to be delivered to the table. The restaurant was also designed to do robust carryout and curbside business —several dedicated spaces on one side of the building are set up for this part of the operation (note that there is no drive-through or pick-up window).
The Atmosphere
Like the original location, the Kirkwood outpost draws heavily on the New Mexican aesthetic, a style beloved to Eller, a native of Austin, Texas. As a child, he and his family would often visit Taos, and they owned a sprawling property in the mountains outside of Santa Fe. Visitors to the new restaurant can see Eller's love for the area in the form of ornate woodwork, beautiful tile floors, and desert colors.
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Eller is especially proud of the massive carved doors to the patio and a beautiful wood piece that hangs above the communal bar table, both of which were acquired from a salvage shop in Santa Fe, though they originated in Afghanistan. He also draws attention to the stunning communal table, made from old warehouse beams salvaged from a long-shuttered warehouse on the St. Louis riverfront, as well as a colorful floral mural created by an English woman known for her handcrafted event invitations.
While the interior is beautiful, Taco Buddha has become synonymous with its alfresco dining. Eller made sure the Kirkwood location embraced that ethos in the form of two separate covered patio spaces. One faces the Manchester side but feels miles away from the bustling thoroughfare, thanks to a wooden slat wall that serves as a buffer. The other, facing east, is equally private and adorned with plants and colorful flowers.
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Taco Buddha Kirkwood's front patio
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Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Taco Buddha Kirkwood's side patio
The Background
Eller founded Taco Buddha six years ago in a small shotgun-style storefront in University City with the goal of being a low-key taco spot. Prior to its opening, the space housed a string of short-lived restaurants. Eller found the right antidote in the form of creative tacos and mouth-watering margaritas. Over time, he expanded the restaurant’s footprint to include a large covered patio to accommodate the throngs of dine-in patrons.
Taco Buddha became a bona fide phenomenon during the pandemic, though, thanks to the restaurant’s convenient online ordering and curbside pickup system. “Who would have known that the runway in front on Pershing is just perfect for curbside? That was luck,” Eller says. “We got a really good system down and started doing over 200 cars a day.”
Taco Buddha’s explosive popularity made Eller realize that there was demand for a second location. After searching for the right spot, he found a former Hardee's location on Manchester Road in Kirkwood, in an area that he felt mirrored the residential feel of the University City flagship, and purchased the building. He then began an extensive 16-month renovation. “It’s been a hard slog, and it’s been a lot," he says, "but this made sense and just kind of worked."
Photo by Cheryl Baehr
Kurt Eller (center) and the Taco Buddha team
Eller hopes to endear the restaurant to its Kirkwood neighbors in the same way that he has to its University City ones—by offering a relaxed, delicious experience that exceeds expectations for a fast-casual restaurant. He believes the brand has legs and hopes to continue finding ways to let his team grow professionally, which could mean more locations down the road. For now, though, he’s focusing on the two restaurant locations and is mindful of how a simple idea morphed into a beloved part of St. Louis dining culture.
“I attribute the success and how it grew because of that—by not being under so much pressure,” Eller says. “If it didn’t work, at at least we had fun, and I could sell out and move out to New Mexico. It was a good Plan B, and darn it, I haven’t gotten to move.”
Taco Buddha - Kirkwood
11111 Manchester Road, St Louis, Missouri 63122
Tue-Thu: 11a.m. - 8:30 p.m.; Fri-Sat: 11a.m. - 9 p.m.
Moderate
