La Vida Hospitality Group is planning to bring Taco Reho to Middletown in July 2023. | PHOTO COURTESY OF LA VIDA HOSPITALITY GROUP
MIDDLETOWN — Taco Reho, a La Vida Hospitality concept, is coming to Middletown, marking the second investment the restaurant group will make in the growing New Castle County town.
La Vida Hospitality group was granted conditional approval to open a quick-service restaurant, complete with drive-thru, at 100 Sandhill Drive. Taco Reho will take the place of Steak ‘n Shake which closed as part of the Indianapolis-based chain’s steady closures sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Because it’ll be a fast-casual restaurant, seating will be limited on the inside. Roughly 50% of our business is drive-thru or carry-out,” La Vida Hospitality Managing Partner Mitchell Rosenfeld told Middletown officials.
Renovations are planned to be minimal and to adjust the interior to the Taco Reho concept. The idea would be to transform the existing drive-thru to mirror the existing Taco Reho restaurant off Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach, according to Bob MacLeish of Lighthouse Construction, the firm working on the project.
La Vida Hospitality aims to open Taco Reho in July, with the restaurant employing between 50 to 60 employees.
Taco Reho is a California-Mexican inspired casual restaurant that first started as a food truck in 2014 that parked near the Big Chill Surf Cantina. In 2021, owner Billy Lucas teamed up with La Vida Hospitality to renovate a former Burger King on Coastal Highway.
Its menu focuses on its daily-made tortillas, from its tacos and burritos to even hot dogs. Specialties include its Baja fish and chicken tinga.
La Vida Hospitality is led by managing partners Rosenfeld, Josh Grapski and Rich Garrahan, and is best known for its Crooked Hammock Brewery and Big Chill Cantina concepts that started at Delaware’s beaches.
“Middletown is one of the fastest growing areas in Delaware. With the opening of Crooked Hammock Brewery in Middletown in 2021, La Vida has seen the demand for concepts like ours in the Middletown area,” La Vida Hospitality spokesman Matt Garbutt told the Delaware Business Times.
“After opening the first brick-and-mortar concept for Taco Reho in Rehoboth Beach in November 2021 we are looking to grow & expand this concept throughout the state and nearby markets,” he added.
Crooked Hammock has two locations in Delaware, including one in Middletown, and one in North Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. Garrahan told DBT in 2021 that his hope was to turn the brewery into a regional brand, and its third location in North Carolina is a first step in achieving that goal.
La Vida is currently looking to continue expansion efforts along the eastern seaboard, with current areas of focus in South and North Carolina and Maryland, Garbutt said.
