Kevin Morrison wants to fill Denver International Airport guests with Tacos Tequila Whiskey before their next departure.
This month, Tacos Tequila Whiskey opened its first DIA location in Concourse A near Gate A18. Morrison is working with Greenwood Village-based airport concessionaire Skyport Hospitality to operate the fast-casual Mexican restaurant.
“We had just lost an airport proposal four weeks prior, and I felt rejected and down when [Skyport] first called,” Morrison said. “I actually said no the first time around, but when they called two weeks later, I was in.”
Finding the right airport concessionaire is crucial, since local restaurateurs don’t actually operate their own concepts, and instead make a passive income off of a percentage of restaurant sales. Morrison was fond of Skyport because the concessionaire went out of their way to “duplicate everything down to the smallest detail, like what salt and ground pepper we use.”
Morrison opened the original Tacos Tequila Whiskey off East Colfax Avenue in 2012, before adding several others. He’s since converted that one to Rolling Pin Pizza and is now down to just one other Tacos Tequila Whiskey at 3300 W. 32nd Ave. in Denver.
“At the time when we were approached to open in the airport, we had several TTW locations,” Morrison said. “Things don’t always work out how you imagine, but we’re hoping this marketing opportunity in the airport will open some doors down the road.”
Tacos Tequila Whiskey’s airport location is counter-service or full-service at the bar, offering a smaller menu of seven tacos, including seared spicy tuna, carne asada and barbacoa. Or snack on your choice of chips and salsa, queso or guacamole. Morrison has also added four new breakfast burritos, including carnitas chorizo or vegetarian, to appease early travelers, who plan to stop by California-based Peet’s Coffee, which also debuted its first DIA location alongside the Mexican restaurant this month.
Elway’s, owned by former Denver Broncos quarterback and executive John Elway, added a second DIA location, next to Tacos Tequila Whiskey and Peet’s Coffee in Concourse A this month.
Elway’s Taproom and Grill offers a more laid-back menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, steaks and appetizers. Elway’s downtown Denver steakhouse in the Ritz-Carlton also reopened this month after a renovation to add a private dining room, update the bar and refurbish the fine-dining establishment’s finishes, fixtures and furnishings.