One Bend taco restaurant expands while others close

Published 3:00 am Saturday, January 25, 2020

El Sancho Taco Shop is opening its second brick and mortar restaurant in the former Longboard Louie’s west-side location on Galveston and the Taco Del Mar on Century Drive closed.

The owners of El Sancho plan to open the shop on NW Galveston Avenue in April, said Joel Cordes, El Sancho co-owner. Cordes said the company took over the lease on Jan 1.

“We always liked that building,” Cordes said. “It fits us.”

The new location adds to El Sancho’s three taco trucks and brick and mortar restaurant off Third Street in Bend’s midtown area.

Longboard Louie’s on Bend’s east side remains open, said co-owner Jeff Parshall.

The west-side location was owned by a former company manager.

Taco Del Mar closed in December after its corporate owners evaluated the restaurant footprint and decided to close it,  said Brent Phillip, Taco Del Mar brand manager in Denver, Colorado.

“Unfortunately, in some cases, this process results in the difficult decision to close certain locations,” Phillip said in an email.

Taco Del Mar locations at the Cascade Village Shopping Center and in Redmond continue to operate.

Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, a chain of fast-casual Mexican restaurants, on NE Third Street in Bend is another Mexican restaurant that closed recently.

Baja Fresh has 162 restaurants and has been in business since 1990. On its website, Baja Fresh lists the Bend, Medford and Corvallis stores as closed. No other information was available.