AURORA | What can a guy from Minnesota who graduated from University of North Dakota teach Colorado about tacos?
Bruce Ringgenberg is aiming to show you.
Ringgenberg is set to open Colorado’s first Rusty Taco restaurant next month on South Havana Street near East Mexico Avenue.
The almost-three-year-old company — named for its rust-colored sauce — already has locations in Texas and Minnesota, but the Aurora location would mark their first foray into the mountain west.
“We know this is a town that appreciates fresh, clean food,” said Ringgenberg, the operating partner for Rusty Taco Colorado.
Ringgenberger said he has visited Colorado since he was a child and thought the state would be an ideal fit for the growing company.
Right now, Rusty Taco has 11 locations in Texas and another two in Minnesota, where the company started. According to their website, they are looking to grow in almost every market in the country, save for the west coast, upper Midwest and few other states.
When he looked in Colorado, Riggenberger said he found an ideal fit at 1760 S. Havana St. in Aurora. The location was home to an Old School Burgers restaurant until that fast-food burger joint shuttered its doors in 2011.
“Some people said Aurora? But all I know is the numbers look amazing and the street feels like it has a nice strong revitalization,” he said.
As he and a crew work to remodel the location, Riggenberger said he has seen the heavy traffic loads on Havana firsthand as he tries to hustle across the bustling road to a hardware store across the street.
The restaurant is just south of The Gardens on Havana, which has become one of the city’s most popular shopping destinations since it replaced Buckingham Square Mall in 2009.
Gayle Jetchick, executive director of Havana Business Improvement District, said she was glad to have a new tenant in a spot that has been empty so long.
“It looks bad when it’s vacant,” she said.
From the BID’s perspective, Jetchick said it’s especially exciting to have a restaurant that, at the moment, is one-of-a-kind in Colorado.
“I’m anxious to see what it’s all about,” she said.
Ringgenberg said the focus at Rusty Taco is on freshness. All of the vegetables for the salsas are chopped fresh, and everything is made from scratch.
The menu has a little more than a dozen taco options on it, no burritos or other Mexican-inspired dishes besides chips and salsa.
Ringgenberg said that simplicity is an important part of what has made the restaurant successful so far.
“We’re trying to bring that style a little more mainstream,” he said. “It’s street tacos, but it’s all simple.”
Ringgenberg said Rusty Taco doesn’t bill itself as health food per se — they do have a pretty popular fried chicken taco, after all. But he said the ratio of protein to calories is far better than what people get from a hefty burrito elsewhere, and everything is fresh.
“It’s good, clean food and I’m proud of that,” he said.
The Aurora location will have a full liquor license, he said, and he hopes customers opt to have a few tacos and stick around for a margarita or a few beers.
While the building has a drive thru lane, Riggenberg said he doesn’t plan on having it open.
“We want people to come in and enjoy the atmosphere,” he said.
Riggenberg said each location likes to dabble with a few local options unique to that community. In one of the Minnesota locations, that meant a polish sausage taco — complete with mustard and sauerkraut — aimed at the Polish and Ukrainian community.
For Colorado, Ringgenberg said he is toying with the idea of possibly adding green chili to the menu, or some wild game options such as elk or buffalo.
Another five star dining site on Havana.
Bad move not to utilize the drive-thru. I was looking forward to trying this place but want my tacos mobile.