When Lokos Tacos first opened in 2022, Miguel and Lupita Chavez wanted to keep the restaurant small and simple.
Then their small place started feeling smaller.
“On the weekends, if there’s a party of, let’s say 15, they think about going over there,” Mr. Chavez said. “We might be busy. We won’t have any tables available; they’ll go somewhere else.”
Fortunately, the Chavezes knew a “somewhere else” where they could unveil a bigger version of Lokos Tacos – in a Habanero’s Mexican Restaurant. The Chavezes have operated several Habanero’s in the Augusta area. The biggest was in the former Teresa’s Mexican Restaurant at 235 Boy Scout Rd.
After about a year of roof repairs, repainted walls and widened doorways, the Habanero’s sign came down and the second Lokos Tacos opened Jan. 22.
The original Lokos Tacos opened in October 2022 in the former Yosko Japanese steakhouse in the Fairway Square Shopping Center, 2825 Washington Rd. The goal: Instead of another contemporary Mexican place, the restaurant would excel at street food, with all the food coming hot off the grill.
The menu is the same – now there’s just more room to enjoy it.
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To get a better Mexican street taco outside Augusta, your best bet is to visit an actual Mexican street. But if you’re staying in town, the food is one of Lokos’ signature items, with a savory balance of beef, onions and cilantro inside a small tortilla.
Customers also enjoy Lokos’ quesabirria – braised beef tacos with melted cheese, accompanied by beef broth and sauces for dipping.
If you like your seafood spicy, try Lokos’ aguachiles. Raw shrimp is marinated in lime juice served on a bed of serrano peppers, jalapeños, red onions and cucumbers.
The restaurant’s rebuilt deck is waiting to lure diners out into warmer weather when the predicted early spring arrives. For indoor diners, every other Friday features live mariachi music – something they tried to do at the smaller Lokos with limited success.
“It’s been so great over there that we needed a bigger room for bigger parties,” Chavez said. “Down there, we can’t take big parties. In here, it’s perfect.”