Broken English Taco Pub To Take Over Lincoln Park’s Kings County Tap

The large and vacant Lincoln Park restaurant space that went through extensive remodeling before housing the short-lived Kings County Tap has new tenants. Adolfo Garcia and Phil Stefani plan on opening their third Broken English Taco Pub inside the space at Sheffield and Lincoln at 2576 N. Lincoln Ave., according to a spokeswoman. The announcement is consistent with what Kings County owners said last year when they divulged plans for a taco shop and cantina for the space.

The space has been shuttered for 16 months, but the pub should open this spring. The changeover won’t take long if Garcia and Stefani follow the same formula they did when Broken English took over the Pomp & Circumstance space in Old Town in December. They took over a struggling, recently-opened restaurant in good condition, applied a few coats of paint—in Old Town’s case adding a colorful exterior mural—and brought in their menu of tacos and cocktails.

The Loop location, which opened in May, has become a reliable happy hour and lunch spot downtown. Good drinks will be a key for the Lincoln Park space, as there’s ample outdoor seating looking over Jonquil Park.

The space has gone through a lot. It housed Hoagie Hut, which gave way to Etno Village Grill before the latter closed in 2014. Crews spent months on the buildout before finally opening as Kings County Tap in June 2015. Despite a great beer list, Kings County suffered from an identity crisis and menu changes. It never captured locals, which include nearby DePaul University students. It shuttered in November 2015.

The space also became entangled in a lawsuit between the owners of Headquarters Beercade. LKH Management—the group behind the three Replay Beer & Bourbon arcade bars, plus Hydrate and Elixir in Boystown—eventually took over the space. Garcia and Stefani appear to have worked out an operating agreement with LKH for the restaurant.