By now most readers of The Burn know that Loudoun County is getting its first Taco Bamba restaurant. We first broke the news last November.
The popular Mexican restaurant brand is coming to the Cascades Marketplace in Sterling, a center that is seeing a resurgence with multiple hot restaurant brands signing on.
While no construction has started on the space yet, an application for a Virginia ABC license is posted on the window — a first sign that things are officially afoot.
Even more fun — while we wait for the work on Taco Bamba to get started, a peek in the windows is like a trip back in time.
The space — which used to be a Baja Fresh fast casual restaurant — is virtually unchanged since that restaurant closed years ago.
Dusty tables and chairs still crowd the dining room, colorful but faded bunting hangs from the ceiling, a menu board still offers up “quesadilla tacos,” and a big Baja Fresh logo adorns one wall.
Soon, this time capsule will be gone — cleaned up and totally refurbished into a new Taco Bamba location. We’ll keep you posted on when the work starts.
In the meantime, other new restaurants that have signed leases with Cascades Marketplace include Shake Shack, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill, CHIKO, and Brasserie Royale, a new French bistro concept from the owners of the popular Local Provisions.