Chofi Taco owners to open restaurant in Monmouth Beach this summer

It’s 2019, and Patrick and Kim Flammia are selling birria tacos at Smorgasburg, a weekly open-air food market in Brooklyn.

The crispy tacos, served with a cup of savory broth for dunking, have long been popular in Mexico but were just making their way onto American menus. Patrick first tried birria in Los Angeles and Kim in Mexico, and they knew it would be a hit on the East Coast.

“We kind of lucked out on being on the precipice of them being here,” Patrick said. “People really loved it. It really built our confidence up.”

Patrick, 35, and Kim, 29, both of whom have worked in high-end New York City restaurants, rented space to prep their tacos for food festivals before deciding to open a restaurant of their own. Chofi Taco, inspired by Kim’s upbringing in Puebla, Mexico, and named for their young daughter, opened in Union City on March 15, 2020.

The next day, New Jersey restaurants closed their dining rooms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Food festivals shut down, too. But birria tacos became the musthave food that summer, and Chofi Taco’s menu translated well to takeout.

After a few good reviews, “we had a line down the street for a long time,” Patrick said.

Now it is time for something new. The Flammias are opening a second restaurant, Chofi Beach, in Monmouth Beach. They hope to open Memorial Day weekend in the Beach Road space previously occupied by Chinese restaurant King Star.

“It was always a dream to have multiple concepts,” Patrick said. “... We’re still going to serve the birria tacos, that’s still a beach item in Mexico,– but (we will) also have a focus on seafood.”

Diners can expect a taco-focused BYOB restaurant that also serves aquachile and ceviche, “something that’s fun to eat before or after the beach,” he said.

The 35-seat restaurant, which is triple the size of the Flammias’ Union City restaurant, will be BOYB. It will be open for lunch and dinner.

Go: 36 Beach Road in Monmouth Beach; chofitaco.com. Chofi Tacos is at 1706 Summit Ave. in Union City; 201430-6515.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to sgriesemer@gannettnj.com.