The brother restaurant team who owns Casa Ventura on Seventh Avenue will be taking over the space that used to be Lucky 7 on Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street to open a Mexican taqueria come April.
Jose and Giovanni Ventura, two brothers from Puerto Rico who are the owner and chef at Casa respectively, are working hard to open their new spot, Loli's Taqueria sometime between April 1 and 10.
The owner of Lucky's, who owns the entire building, gave the Ventura brothers a "deal of a lifetime" to do their thing and bring some organic, yet affordable Latin fare to Sixth Avenue.
As Lucky's was suffering through its last days, the owner approached the Ventura's and offered them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
“This is going to allow us to bring healthy, organic Mexican food, and it’ll be affordable for the neighborhood,” Jose told Patch while standing in his new digs.
Loli’s Taqueria, named after Jose’s daughter Lola, will serve “modern style taqueria cuisine, specializing in combining local products with authentic Mexican flavors and new techniques of cooking,” Jose said, explaining that Giovanni will be the executive chef. “The menu will be steeped in a simple, yet elegant cuisine that will feature local, sustainable and seasonal ingredients.”
Jose said they will specialize in $3 tacos. Giovanni will make two different categories of tacos.
The first will be their Mexican street style tacos, including Cochinita Pibil with banana leaf, baked Berkshire pork, and sour orange marinade; Lengua with braised beef tongue, and green pico de gallo.
Giovanni will also make what he will call Loli's Taqueria style tacos like the Betabel Organico made with organic roasted beets, queso fresco, and orange segments and the Shrimp taco with salsa verde, avocado, and mango.
“We’ll be serving $3 tacos everyday, you can’t beat that,” he said.
The bar will serve beer, wine and 11 different types of sangria made with organic wine and fruit. They will close at 10 p.m. every night and have a focus on family and kids.
His father-in-law, who built the inside of Casa Ventura, will be making some changes inside Lucky’s former space. There will be 25 seats at tables and 14 seats at the bar. They will give the space a new paintjob and line one wall with a chalkboard.
“This is going to be a family-oriented place. I’m excited to bring something healthy and affordable to Park Slope,” Jose said. “Loli’s is going to be a place where you can bring your kids and have family time.”
