A popular taqueria in Elk Grove closed earlier this month. What’s taking its place?
A popular Elk Grove taqueria closed earlier this month, and a new establishment is expected to open in its place.
The moniker that once read “Netillo’s Takos,’‘ located at 8451 Elk Grove Blvd. near the Walmart Neighborhood Market, is now blank after eight years.
Signage now shows that a hot chicken spot called Nash and Tender is coming this summer.
Nash and Tender owner Armando Rodriguez said that their opening date is “up in the air,” but he hopes to get the store open within a month.
“We’re excited to get in there and try to get it open as soon as we can before the summer ends and see how we do,” said Rodriguez, 32.
Nash and Tender is your “local hot chicken joint,” according to its website. It has no ties to Nash & Proper, a similarly named Sacramento chicken joint and food truck.
“We hand batter our chicken every day. We have different spice levels, different tastes,” said Rodriguez, who prefers the mild spice level. “There are people that love the more spicier ones. Our Nash and Tender fries are pretty much the most popular ones on our menu. It’s pretty much a simple short menu but everything’s made daily.”
Rodriguez has other locations in Stockton — his first location — and Lodi. Now, he adds Elk Grove as a third after taking over the lease from Netillo’s Takos owner Alma Vincenty, who is also his sister.
“We were actually looking for a location in the Sacramento area,” Rodriguez said. “My sister was looking to focus more on mobile so it kind of worked out and we made the deal.”
Rodriguez said it worked out perfectly for both him and his sister.
What happened to Netillo’s?
Netillo’s Takos has cleared out and no longer operates at that location. Vicenty said she moved out of their Elk Grove location June 9.
She said that after becoming consumed with catering and recently purchasing a food trailer for their taco grill, it was time to focus more on parties and events.
“We were working a lot,” Vicenty said in a phone interview. “We built a really good clientele in our community. We were booked out of catering events… this is much more suitable. We got the food trailer at the beginning of this year and that’s really what just was kind of that push like. ‘alright, let’s just go mobile’”.
Netillo’s Takos continues to operate in downtown Sacramento at 1630 J St. (inside Goldfield Trading Post), in addition to its catering and food truck business.
Vicenty and her husband enjoy working in the food trailer and catering for two or three hours, she said, rather than being at one location all day.
“Life is really good now,” Vicenty said. “Less stress and it’s just much more fun.”
