Photograph by Caitlin Abrams
Pajarito interior
Maybe this will do it. The space at 50th & France that was once Tejas (famous for charred salsa, table side guacamole, tortilla soup, and other glories of Tex-Mex eating in the 80's) has had a hard time since it closed a decade ago. Mozza Mia re-worked the space in 2010, in the name of hand-pulled mozz and Neapolitan pizzas. That lasted for sixish years, after which it became Moderna Kouzina for a quick turn, from 2018-2019.
Now, it's back to tacos. The team behind Pajarito, chefs Stephan Hesse and Tyge Nelson, have signed the lease on the space for their second location. "We're very excited to be coming to the neighborhood," Hesse told me on the phone. "The last tenants really gutted and updated the whole place so we're only planning on doing a light remodel. It will feel much like the original in St. Paul, but the bar is a bit bigger, there's an open kitchen, and instead of a wood-fired grill we'll be working with wood-fired ovens."
prepared plates of food from pajarito
The menus will largely mirror each other, and Hesse and Nelson will hire a chef de cuisine, but then split time between East and West locations, "We're going to pull a Niver. You know how one day you can go to Mucci's and see (owner) Tim Niver working there, and the next day you can pop into Saint Dinette and see him working there? We're just planning on working a lot, it's what we like to do!"
With a bigger kitchen, the Edina location will likely be the testing ground for new menu items, but whatever works there will come to St. Paul too. One of the biggest upgrades is the lower level event space in Edina, "People are always asking about private dining, but in St. Paul we don't have any separate rooms, so you'd have to buy out the whole space. This new spot has a great lower level party room that should fit more people's needs."
Now, it's all up to the permit people and the liquor licensers. If all goes well, Pajarito West should be open before the holidays. If green chorizo queso fundido, cilantro habanero margaritas, and scallop aguachile can't exorcise the ghosts, maybe it can chill them out enough to just get along for a decade or so.
