Rumors of a taco joint called Impala coming to H Street NE have been floating around the neighborhood since mid-2011 or so.
Now, after a final equipment installation here and a touch-up paint job there, partners Ian Holt, George Grau and Troy Hickman are soon to throw open the doors of
Impala Cantina y Taqueria, at 1358 H Street NE.
The now-defunct Taco Tuesdays at the Pug (1234 H Street NE) were a kind of proof point for the taco-loving trio, as was the taco window Grau formerly ran at the Big Hunt (1345 Connecticut Ave. NW).
“People loved Taco Tuesdays,” says Holt. “It was a way to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood.” On offer were braised pork, chicken, beef and tofu tacos, as well as
tortas – a type of Mexican sandwich – made with those fillings.
Even as the taco window was shuttered at the Pug, it has opened at Impala, which now serves tacos to walk-up patrons from early evening until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays. “It goes in waves,” Holt says. “From 8 to 10pm, we see a [spike in sales]. But late night, when people are spilling out of the bars, it is really busy.” (Kind of like the rush on slices at Pizza Mart when Adams Morgan’s bars disgorge their hungry patrons.)
These items were a preview of what’s to come at the full-fledged restaurant, slated to open early next month, though Holt doesn’t offer a specific day. “It won’t be a big opening with searchlights or anything,” he notes, adding that it will almost certainly be open before Cinco de Mayo. “We’re going to have a big party” in honor of that holiday, which is actually celebrated more in the U.S. than it is in Mexico.
The menu will likely feature tacos and other dishes making use of pork, beef or beef tongue, house-made chorizo (following Hickman’s family recipe), and “chorifu” – Impala’s signature seasoned tofu. Grau, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America, leads menu development.
Inside the roughly 3,000 square-foot restaurant, the light fixtures, stools, bars, tables and decorative elements have all been imported from Mexico. The building dates back about a century, and in past lives was a nail salon and a store that sold pagers.
“Last Saturday night, some guy was telling me his uncle used to run a used car lot in the back,” Holt says. The neighborhood “is just going to keep getting bigger and better, I think. Troy has lived here since it was just the Argonaut and some carryouts.”
There’s to be seating for 110 both inside and on the patio, and Holt says he hopes the team can add on a rooftop deck by the summer 2015 season.