Taco Reho starts rockin’ n rolling at new spot Nov. 1

The wall of old speakers, subwoofers and amplifiers at the new Taco Reho may be primarily for decoration, but owner Billy Lucas said the soon-to-be open restaurant is still going to rock.

“The music isn’t going to be obnoxiously loud, but we’ll still be able to crank it,” said Lucas, showing off the recently installed app on his phone that controls the music level. 

Taco Reho came onto the local food scene six years ago. Lucas’ music-themed food truck serving Southern California food has called the parking lot next to the Big Chill Surf Cantina home ever since.

Lucas said opening a brick-and-mortar location has been his goal the whole time. He said it’s been inspired by a combination of Hard Rock Cafe and McDonald’s. It’s over the top, but also producing quick, good food, he said.

“Fast casual, plus,” said Lucas.

Similar to the food truck, the restaurant is decorated as an homage to Lucas’ love of music and his time as a roadie. The bar is shaped like an acoustic guitar. The wall separating the dining room from the bar looks like a black and metal-trimmed speaker case. The bathroom walls are adorned with images of music legends. There’s a drum set hanging from the ceiling above the bar.

The day of the interview, Lucas was putting the final touches on the paint job of the entrance way – a design paying tribute to Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat pattern he famously painted onto his guitars.

“Eddie is Taco Reho’s spirit human and we thought this was the best way to pay tribute to him,” said Lucas. “We’re hoping to inspire people to learn more about music. To come here and get schooled.”

Taco Reho will be making all its food in-house, including the tortillas, said Lucas. He’s installed a tortilleria, which has the ability to make 1,500 tortillas an hour. The tortilla will be made from whole corn kernels shipped from Mexico, that are then soaked in a bath of steaming water and other ingredients, before being ground into the tortilla dough.

“It’s a 12-hour process, called seed to masa,” said Lucas. “We’ll be the first ones doing something like this anywhere close to here. Making all the food in house is an extra step in the process, but the customers will notice the difference. I can’t wait.”

Lucas said the restaurant menu will feature many of the same items from the food truck menu, with a few additions. People are excited about the new location, but there’s some understandable nervousness that things are going to change too much, he said.

“Hopefully, we don’t mess things up, but I think it’s going to be better,” said Lucas.

The new Taco Reho is located in what used to be a Burger King, but an unknowing customer will be hard pressed to make the connection. Lucas said he wanted it that way. Looking around, he said the structure of the sign on Route 1 and the kitchen floor are about the only thing remaining from the previous business.

This place was built in the early 1980s and it didn’t look like anything had been done to it the whole time, he said.

Another item Lucas kept from the previous business was the drive-thru window. He said that was one of the deciding factors for moving to its new home.

Lucas said Taco Reho’s famous food truck will still be in action for catering and other events.

Taco Reho, 18784 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth, will be open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, go to tacoreho.com, call 302-226-TACO or email kmcdonald@lavidahg.com.