As restaurants across Capitol Hill are either turning their businesses on a dime or boarding up until they are allowed to fully reopen, a new part of the neighborhood’s dining scene has been born into these uncertain times.
CHS first wrote about the early plans for E Pine at Summit’s Mezcaleria Oaxaca to add a new walk-up window around last Cinco de Mayo. Turns out, these are the kinds of moves Seattle’s restaurants and bars needed to be out ahead of to be ready for these “stay home” days of the COVID-19 response.
“It’s board up or do this,” Mezcaleria Oaxaca owner Graham Graham tells CHS. “We were going to do this in two months.” Like a lot of things right now, plans have been changed and time has accelerated.
The new window is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 4 to 10 PM with a menu of tacos, plus snacks like guacamole and chips, and entrees including carne asada, mole, and Mezcaleria Oaxaca’s perfectly shareable tlayudas. The new Summit-side walk-up also offers selections from Mezcaleria Oaxaca’s unique Mexican wine list — to go.
UPDATE: Some important new info just in from Graham:
Thank You sincerely from myself and the employees of Mezcaleria Oaxaca. It takes the whole village.
One day at a time.
We have now opened for lunch and working on breakfast (I’ll let you know) could be by Friday.Taco Take Out
Tuesday through Saturday Noon to 10:PM
Corner of Summit and PineThanks again,
Graham
“People are thanking us as they walk by for being open,” Graham says. The gratitude is welcome but “this is about them,” he said, pointing to the busy kitchen insiden. This is about keeping them employed.”
We’ve added information on ordering from Mezcaleria Oaxaca’s new taco window the CHS To Go Listings — you can check out the rest at capitolhillseattle.com/calendar.
https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/event/taco-window-at-mezcaleria-oaxaca-capitol-hill/
$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE THIS SPRING
🌈🐣🌼🌷🌱🌳🌾🍀🍃🦔🐇🐝🐑🌞🌻
Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you.
Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month -- or choose your level of support 👍
A single taco for $6? Umm…
Yes, because we all know “ethnic” food should be super cheap. The restaurant should just absorb the cost of quality ingredients, convenient location, and the fact they are still providing meals for you during a pandemic.
Maybe read this article – https://remezcla.com/food/anthony-bourdain-racist-assumption-mexican-food-cheap/ – and then stop by Mezcaleria to see what $6 buys you.
LOL. Yeah, so on their regular menu you get 3 tacos and a side for $14. Has nothing to do about ethnic food needing to be super cheap and has everything to do with being realistic about what people will spend, regardless of a pandemic.
I’ve eaten there many times and the food is OK at best compared to other Mexican restaurants in the greater downtown area (obviously an opinion, but informed by extensive Mexican travels). I admire the ownership/management’s attempt to keep their staff employed, but let’s be real, the offering doesn’t equal the value.
Get a grip.
Yes, as you clearly allude to, your comments are simply your personal opinion. So why “LOL” and “NoGracias” the restaurant in the comments when you could simply, just not go there?
Likely because you are a troll that needs to get a grip themselves?
Also, if you think through the cost of the to-go taco vs. regular menu, you’re only paying about $2 more per taco. If $2 more is your breaking point you should stay home to cook (or just go to Taco Bell).
$6 for a taco lolz
i know its scary for small businesses, especially restaurants, right now – i work in one, i get it. it is impossible to keep 6 ft away from each other in the kitchen, handing over take out food, taking payment, etc.
Seriously. Is anyone paying attention, or just thinking “shelter in place” means “get take out”?
Go home. Cook your own food. You’ll live.
I am trying to support local restaurants so they dont all disappear. Take out, gift cards, growlers and wine purchases. i am doing it all. i encourage you to do what you can as well. And I also cook at home.
yes, but then the chances for virtue signaling (“i want to support local business”) would get more difficult.
this is just encouraging restaurant owners to stay open – i get it, they are scared – and is forcing their employees to continue coming in to work.
The picture shows the problem – way too close to each other, too many items being touched by staff etc. great opportunity for infection to spread. Stay home ?
I would agree with you about the risk but I feel like the largest reason this virus is problematic is the age demographics of our current population and the amount of immunosuppressive drugs people are on unwittingly. My husband and I watched as more and more of the population began to take varying doses of the same types of strong immunosuppressive drugs our daughter was on for heart transplant. Only it was for reactivity to anything from skin issues and age related arthritis to diet induced diabetes. We wondered if they knew the long term personal cost and affect of these drugs on their own immunity? Now you’re witnessing it but in the elderly and some even younger. So if you’re on these drugs and some of the diabetic drugs …read the fine print. They suppress your immune system and “Yes” you should stay home but don’t force everyone too. It’s not realistic or fair every time a flu season happens. And yes some flu seasons are miserable. We believe this is why she became so ill in the first place. But for 20 years we merely reminded guests not to come to our home if they were ill, we kept her home from school when we were made aware of increases in number of kids becoming ill at school etc. …
Meanwhile our other 2 children remained at school to develop immunity.
Living in a bubble doesn’t help your immune system either ! This is another very important issue we need to address as a population , so please do educate yourself about it for the sake of you and your family.
Let’s be honest. Eating out is never truly safe if a person is constantly being paranoid about germs all the times. In this case, do yourself a favor and cook your own meals!