Favorite Mexican restaurant closes, a cat cafe moves, and other Tacoma-area food news
With plenty of new restaurants to try around Tacoma, including some below, there are also a few closures.
Perhaps most notably, Reyna’s in Parkland has closed after more than 20 years serving families and students of Pacific Lutheran University.
Here’s a look at some recent restaurant happenings around Pierce County.
▪ One of the best little corner bars around, Thirsty Hound Drinkery has new owners, but regulars — who have grown accustomed to the Thai-inspired bar food, great beer list and approachable cocktails — need not fret. They are friends of the original duo and vow to keep just about everything as it were.
▪ Market season is officially underway, spearheaded locally by the Proctor Farmers Market which runs every Saturday through December. New-this-year vendors include a bakery offering chocolate babka, honey cake and croissants in myriad flavors, a mini-cupcake maker and a clever sandwich company playing with potato chips between bread.
▪ El Antojo, which has several locations in the region including one taqueria and one full-service restaurant in Tacoma, will open a third at 5015 Tacoma Mall Blvd. Construction permits have been filed with the city and a “coming soon” sign has been hanging outside the building for a few months.
▪ Downtown Tacoma feels like it’s hitting a good stride. Following the debut of some great pizza from APIZZA Little Italy, the main restaurant drag of Pacific Avenue will also welcome a wine and tapas bar on one side of the street and a new PNW-meets-Euro eatery on the other.
New restaurant coming to vacant space downtown. Think classic European with a PNW touch
▪ In Parkland, Reyna’s Mexican Restaurant has closed after 21 years on Garfield Street. Due in part to personal health issues, the Guzman family announced the official shutter on Facebook in January. La Salsa Mexican Food, which you might recognize from the B&I Marketplace food court in Lakewood, will take its place, according to a liquor license application filed March 27.
▪ The Flying Tomato Italian Grill, which closed in Graham in 2021, appears to be on its way to reopening at 17106 Pacific Ave. S. in Spanaway, per a liquor license application filed at the end of February.
▪ Catffeinated, Tacoma’s only cat cafe, said goodbye to its Sixth Avenue location at the end of February. The business found a bigger space in downtown Puyallup at the corner of West Pioneer and South Meridian. Classes revolving around painting and yoga with cats will continue at the new cafe, as The Puyallup Herald reported this year. The owners have applied for a license to sell beer and wine.
