Taco time: Fast-casual Titusville restaurant moves from gas station to stand-alone site
Titusville drivers stopping at the BP Station on Cheney Highway can fill up on gas, but if they want to fill up on tacos, they'll have to keep driving.
Sergio's Tacos Grill, the fast-casual Mexican spot with fresh-made corn tortillas, moved out of the gas station and into its own digs in the Publix Plaza at 3239 Garden St. in early February.
"It's like a new fresh start," said Ash Romero, who opened his first Sergio's with his father, and the restaurant's namesake, eight years ago at a Mobil station in Viera.
The original Sergio's Tacos closed in 2019 after the Mobil station was sold, but the Romeros' taco legacy continues.
The new 48-seat restaurant with a tropical, Space Age vibe and walls painted by muralist Christopher Maslow is small, Romero said, but he hopes the open kitchen and scratch food will make it feel like home.
It's a family business. In addition to Ash and Sergio Romero, who has had a long career in Brevard Mexican restaurants, Ash's mother Mary Romero and his grandmother Maria De La Cruz can be found in the kitchen making tortillas and the rest of the food.
"Whatever we cook at home is what they cook in the restaurant," Romero said.
Among the favorites are birria tacos served on fried corn tortillas and the carne asada taco topped with cilantro and onion.
"And we're bringing back the Mexican hamburgers," Romero said, featuring beef patties seasoned with Mexican spices.
"Between the atmosphere and the food, everybody leaves happy."
Romero said he didn't know what direction he was going when he opened that first taco place in late 2015. He was a month shy of graduating from Florida Tech with degrees in mechanical and aerospace engineering. At the time, he wasn't sure which career he'd land on.
He's learned a lot since then. In 2016, he and his father opened Tequila Azul, a higher-end full-service restaurant at the entrance to the Avenue Viera. The restaurant, which is now the location for Tuscany Grill, was open for three years.
"A lot of people miss Tequila Azul," Romero said, especially the salsa nights.
He said he learned a lot owning a large restaurant and bar, but for now, he's happy concentrating on the new Titusville restaurant and Sergio's Tacos Cocoa Beach, which opened at 76 S. Orlando Ave. in 2019.
A third Sergio's is planned for Melbourne's Lake Washington area in the coming months, and Romero said he hasn't ruled out returning to Viera.
"It will happen when the time is right," he said.
Details: Sergio's Tacos Grill is at 3239 Garden St., Titusville, 321-225-8954; and 76 S. Orlando Ave., Cocoa Beach, 321-450-4300; sergiostacosgrill.com.
Suzy Fleming Leonard is a features journalist with more than three decades of experience. Find her on Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard or on Instagram: @SuzyLeonard.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Sergio's Tacos in Titusville leaves gas station to stand-alone space
