When Kevin Morrison opened Tacos Tequila Whiskey in 2012, serving upscale street tacos in a hip environment, it was a revelation for many people in Denver. So much so that Morrison expanded the former food truck from its original spot at 1514 York St. to a larger location in Denver’s West Highland neighborhood and then out of state.
A dozen years later, and “taco spots are like coffee shops or breweries in this town. They’re everywhere,” he said. “I truly believe what our staff does at the back and front of the house is awesome. But I just have to look at it from the consumer, who’s thinking, ‘Why would I travel 10 minutes for a taco, when I can travel three?’ I get it.”
On Feb. 24, Morrison will close the original, or OG, Tacos Tequila Whiskey, and revamp the space into a new concept from his KTM Restaurant Group. The West Highland location, at 3300 W. 32nd Ave., will remain open — but with some menu updates, including salads and tortas.
“We’re not the new kid on the block anymore, so we’ve got to reinvent ourselves without losing our core values,” Morrison said. A third Tacos Tequila Whiskey location closed in 2022.
The new concept, Rolling Pin Pizza, will serve thin, square-cut pizzas known as Midwestern or tavern-style. The dough is literally rolled with a rolling pin to get it extra thin, hence the name.
Tavern-style pizza has become more popular in Denver over the past two years, and Morrison hopes to debut Rolling Pin at the end of March.
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The menu will have a constant lineup of classic toppings, like pepperoni, sausage and giardiniera, but the chefs will come up with four “new-school” flavors each month, like truffle cream and steak tartare. There will be craft beer on tap, wine, and limoncello and sambuca made in-house.
“If you go back to 1983, my senior year of high school, I was kitchen manager at Godfather’s Pizza in Merrillville Indiana, so ever since then, I always wanted to own a pizza joint,” said Morrison, who also owns Fish N’ Beer in River North. “This just came to me, and I started geeking out about it, making dough after dough and finally landing on this recipe.”