In a New Year’s Day post to social media, the owners of Taqueria Morita (4239 Duncan) announced that the restaurant would be closing permanently. The post read, in part: “It’s with sad news that we share that this Saturday will be our final day of service at Taqueria Morita. We are so proud of the delicious food and libations we’ve crafted this year at our brick and location. We put a lot of heart and soul into creating this place. Thank you to those that made Morita part of your year.”
Taqueria Morita, which specializes in Baja-style cuisine, is owned by Take Root Hospitality, which also operates Vicia, Bistro La Floraison, and Winslow’s Table. The TRH ownership group includes Tara and Michael Gallina, as well as culinary director Aaron Martinez, who also served as executive chef at Taqueria Morita.
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The final days of service at the 80-seat taqueria will be this Friday and Saturday, January 3 and 4, from 4–8 p.m. The social media post beckoned diners: “Come eat all our tacos and drink all the tequila. Savor our fish tacos one last time. We’ll miss you and would love your help in giving Morita a proper send off.”
Tara Gallina tells SLM that closing the business “was not something we wanted to do, certainly, but we learned that concept in that space was ultimately not a viable combination.” TRH was fortunate to have a year-to-year leasing arrangement, and the partners decided that the time was right to cut the losses. “When you have too much going out and not enough coming in, that becomes the ultimate reality,” Gallina says.
The Backstory
Taqueria Morita was inspired by Martinez’s Mexican heritage and takes its name from the morita chile. The concept was designed to build on the success of Vicia’s taco-inspired, open-air pop-ups held during the pandemic and to provide a new vehicle to expand Vicia’s offerings to a more casual clientele.
A seasonal 56-seat operation opened at Vicia’s newly constructed garden-side pavilion space in May 2022. Part of the appeal and charm was that it was fully alfresco, including the walk-up order counter, kitchen, bar, and seating within the terraced garden.
The menu featured creative takes on tacos, among them barbacoa, carnitas, oyster mushroom, sweet potato, and tempura. Other options included ceviches, taquitos, guacamole, chicharrónes, and a hearty posole rojo.
Bebidas ran the gamut, including margaritas (dubbed Margmoritas), palomas, daiquiris, and ranch water, as well as Mexican beers, agua frescas, Topo Chico, and Mexican Coke.
The outdoor restaurant became so popular that the TRH team decided to move the operation indoors, inside Winslow’s Table, for the winter months. Eventually, after two years of moving back and forth as the seasons changed, Taqueria Morita sunk its roots in the Cortex Innovation District in the Central West End. The restaurant opened last April in a 4,000-square-foot, free-standing building next to Vicia (previously a Wasabi Sushi Bar location) with a spacious covered patio.
For now, after announcing Taqueria Morita’s closure, Gallina says, the immediate reality is for Take Root Hospitality to focus on the concepts that are working well.
“It takes a lot of energy to keep successful places successful. We’ve been fortunate to run four restaurants at the same time, and we’re trying not to take the loss personally.” While that’s not to say that Taqueria Morita might be resurrected at another time in another place, Gallina notes, “For this year, we’re excited to hone in on what we have and make them even better.
“A lot of successful restaurant owners have gone through the same thing and come out fine on the other side,” she adds. “There are so many people in our business who are struggling and feeling alone. I know I felt that way over the last several months. And it can be really isolating. No one wants to talk about it because no one wants people to think their business isn’t doing well, but I’m trying to embrace being a little more open about that.”
